I’m so scared...DH’s jaw is stuck

[Myira]

DH came to bed and was mumbling, I thought he is just sleepy. Turns out he was trying to tell me his jaw is stuck. He would not let me call a friend and drove himself to the hospital.
I’m so scared, I can’t think straight. I’d rather not google, I’ve no idea what it means.



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[ArizonaGirl]

It sounds like lock jaw but I really have no idea.

Just sending really big :hug:

[Myira]

It sounds like lock jaw but I really have no idea.

Just sending really big :hug:

Thanks. I just called the ER and confirmed he reached. He texted me as well. He said he is waiting to be seen and it’s really painful.


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[Pear]

Hope they can see him quickly

[smilequeen]

Does he get headaches or jaw pain frequently? Does he clench or grind his teeth? TMJ is a possible cause and while it sucks and hurts like hell, it's not as scary...and it's probably far more likely to be the cause than anything else.

[mommy111]

It may be a dislocation in which case nothing serious to worry about.....hang in there

[Myira]

Does he get headaches or jaw pain frequently? Does he clench or grind his teeth? TMJ is a possible cause and while it sucks and hurts like hell, it's not as scary...and it's probably far more likely to be the cause than anything else.

It was TMJ indeed, they have asked him to follow up with an ENT. He does not have any of those symptoms to my knowledge.




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[Aishe]

It was TMJ indeed, they have asked him to follow up with an ENT. He does not have any of those symptoms to my knowledge.




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I’ve had severe TMJ for years and I’ve had my jaw lock like that. Physical therapy was extremely helpful.

[magnoliaparadise]

Good luck, OP! I'm glad you are getting to the hospital. Hope everything is ok soon.

[JBaxter]

Its probably a TMJ issue. They may end up calling in an oral surgeon for a consult Lock Jaw is a non medical term for tetanus which would have many more symptoms. Hope he gets some relief

[TwinFoxes]

I'm glad it was nothing serious. I can imagine how scary that must have been.

[Myira]

Its probably a TMJ issue. They may end up calling in an oral surgeon for a consult Lock Jaw is a non medical term for tetanus which would have many more symptoms. Hope he gets some relief

They did an x-ray and said it was okay, asked to follow up with an ENT. An oral surgeon was not consulted. I just looked up lockjaw and sure enough tetanus popped up. So now I’m confused, if this is tetanus, he needs to be treated with antibiotics right?


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[pinkmomagain]

My daughter had this several times and it was terrifying. Hot compresses in the moment and pain reliever in the moment seemed to help. It was TMJ and she went to a specialist to be treated. Mouth appliance and physical therapy helped.

[liz]

Does he get headaches or jaw pain frequently? Does he clench or grind his teeth? TMJ is a possible cause and while it sucks and hurts like hell, it's not as scary...and it's probably far more likely to be the cause than anything else.

This was my first thought as well OP. Glad your DH has a diagnosis. PT sounds like a good thing. I would imagine a mouth guard to help prevent clenching while sleeping might be something else to consider.

[NCGrandma]

They did an x-ray and said it was okay, asked to follow up with an ENT. An oral surgeon was not consulted. I just looked up lockjaw and sure enough tetanus popped up. So now I’m confused, if this is tetanus, he needs to be treated with antibiotics right?


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Since no one replied to this... since he has a diagnosis of TMJ, and a follow up plan, you should be able to forget about tetanus. Totally different condition than what he was diagnosed with, even though both may have some jaw symptoms.


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[smilequeen]

I would also consider an oral surgeon or a dentist with TMJ training instead of an ENT. In my experience ENTs are not trained to deal with TMJ. I had terrible experiences trying to work with them during my residency.

[NCGrandma]

I would also consider an oral surgeon or a dentist with TMJ training instead of an ENT. In my experience ENTs are not trained to deal with TMJ. I had terrible experiences trying to work with them during my residency.

I was surprised too by the ENT recommendation, because I always thought of TMJ as a dental issue. (But my only personal experience was when I was grinding my teeth a lot and I was told by my dentist that if I couldn’t stop the grinding, I might have TMJ problems.)


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[TwinFoxes]

I was surprised too by the ENT recommendation, because I always thought of TMJ as a dental issue.

Same here...I have a friend who's had TMJ since we were in college, and she's always gone to an oral surgeon.

[ChicagoNDMom]

This is not lockjaw/tetanus, please do not worry about that.

[JBaxter]

I was surprised too by the ENT recommendation, because I always thought of TMJ as a dental issue. (But my only personal experience was when I was grinding my teeth a lot and I was told by my dentist that if I couldn’t stop the grinding, I might have TMJ problems.)


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I've never heard of an ENT for TMJ issues either. When I worked as a dental hygienist we always referred to either another dentist who specialized in TMJ or oral surgeons. Its a muscular & joint issue sometimes a clenching or grinding / bite issue I cant see how an ENT would treat those areas.

[BDKmom]

As an audiologist, I have worked with at least 10 different ENTs in my career, and none of them treated TMJ beyond mild cases where they would recommend ibuprofen and hot compresses for pain. They all referred to dentists who specialized in TMJ. Basically general ENTs know enough to differentiate between TMJ and ear problems (a lot of people with TMJ present with ear pain), and that's about it. Maybe there are some ENTs that do more than that out there, but I have never run across one. I would call your dentist and see who they would recommend he see.

[hillview]

I have TMJ and my dentist made me a mouth guard for sleeping in and it has helped. They are custom made cost about $300 and totally worth it.

[Myira]

Just now read all the replies. Thanks all for the information. I'll call our dentist and see who he recommends.

[hwin708]

This probably groups in some with the orthodontics/palate expander discussion thread going on, but I had a friend who struggled with TMJ for a long time, and all the various moderately helpful treatments for it. Eventually, she switched to a dentist who gave her something called a DNA Appliance. She wore it at night for around a year, and it basically served to expand her palate without surgery, something that used to not really be an option for adults. She found it very easy to use, and at the end, her TMJ was pretty much cured, as opposed to continuing treatments. It sounded pretty fantastic. However, it is clearly still pretty new and not terribly widespread, because I could not find a single dentist within 150 miles of me who offered it. I would definitely recommend checking for dentists in your area who are keeping up with the latest advancements.