TMJ 'dysfunction' - Health implications

A most interesting and rather alarming correlation between TMJD and MS which I found in an online forum

"Hi everyone, I know this is an older post, but I was wondering if anyone out there [found] a link between TMJ disorder and MS? The reason I ask is that I know there is no known cause of [MS] but the link between TMJD and MS seems like a possibility to me.

My father and his father both died from brain tumours at young ages. So I get brain MRIs from time to time to make sure I don’t have a brain tumour. I got an MRI of my brain in 2014 and there were no lesions and no tumours

Then in December 2014, I got a full set of the New [Veneers] because my wife works for a dentist and he gave them to us for free for Christmas that year. From January to March 2015, my veneers fell off every week and I had to go to this dentist three times a week to get them re-cemented because walking around with no front teeth can be quite embarrassing.

By March my dentist was so frustrated that he could not get them to stay on so he ripped all the veneers out and shaved all my teeth down to put on crowns. My real teeth were not that bad at all. But I ended up losing all my real teeth and now I have these ugly looking crowns.

Anyway, when he did this he screwed up my bite and my occlusion which lead to severe TMJ disorder and for those of you who suffer from severe TMJD you know the pain I’m talking about with the migraines, neck, shoulder, back pain, I can’t chew, can’t speak and so on and on. The pain was so intense and the migraines were so painful that they started to affect my work performance. Then I started to lose my memory and cognitive function. I thought it was due to the TMJ disorder.

During 2015 August I went in to get a brain MRI to see if maybe I had a brain tumour like my father. It came back with 20 lesions on my brain and 15 on my spine. So in 2014, I had no lesions on my brain MRI and then I got TMJ disorder with horrible pain in my head neck and back. And in less than a year I developed all these lesions and was diagnosed with MS.

I can’t help but think that it was caused by the TMJ disorder. And I know there’s no cause that we know of for MS but I can’t help but think there is a link between the TMJD and my MS. Has anyone else had this experience? I am so desperately looking for someone else who’s had the same thing. So please let me know so I know that I’m not the only one out there that thinks this. Thank you so much I really do love you guys and appreciate all your advice."

PS Article slightly abbreviated and grammar improved.

Comment: This is the most remarkable occurrence I have ever heard of. It is imperative that dentists take a lesson and step most precariously when addressing anyone's dental issues.

Please also read this extensive article:
Is Multiple Sclerosis Caused by the Jaw and Cranial Bones?

Comment: The ramifications of even slight interferences in the wrong direction can have serious consequences as per the experience of another patient I saw last week:

"Hi! I'm a 28 years old female. Until a year ago, my health was good. But I always had problems with my teeth, and I started to lose some of them from a very young age. In November 2017, I got braces as I wanted to fix two small teeth that I have in the front. The first few months I didn't have any problems. After several months, the doctor started to close the gap created from a missing tooth on my upper jaw and also create space between my upper teeth. [em]I also started to wear elastics. Just a few days after starting to wear the elastics I noticed my hearing one day became very strange.[/u][/em] I woke up in the middle of the night with a ringing in my ears. A week afterwards I started to have problems with the jaw. The doctor told me he doesn't think the braces are at fault and advised me to continue wearing the elastics to fix my bite. The pain was getting worse and worse so I decided to remove the braces and not put any retainer so that the teeth can come back to their place.

My teeth are now misaligned and I do not have a proper bite. I also started to get a lot of digestive issues. I still have tinnitus and jaw pain and clicking."

Another new patient writes:

"............ I had been fit and well for 6 years prior to having orthodontic treatment during which time I had had 2 more children (having had 1 when younger) with no problems. My orthodontic treatment concerned me at several stages but my concerns were always dismissed. There was never any plan as things seemed to be tweaked as it went along, and I noticed my arches narrowing and my front teeth were crossed before sticking out instead. My front teeth were shaved twice, but they still stick out. Partway through treatment I noticed I was only biting on the left and said this, but it was dismissed.

My face looked narrower. I later noticed my jaw was swinging open to the left. A click on the right was noted by my dentist part through treatment but was dismissed by my orthodontist. Then towards the end of treatment, I told my orthodontist I could not bite on the right as the right molars seemed lower. Without telling me what he was doing, he did something with the brace I later realised was to pull downwards the upper right molars in order to meet the bottom so that they are completely out of line with the other, but because my lower arch is swinging to the left, it was meeting the upper arch pulled in. I expressed my concerns to the orthodontist, who again dismissed it.

I soon after developed pain in my jaw joints and ringing in my ears and my temples crushed in and my face looked thinner still. Furthermore, I didn’t know what was going on and after going to my dentist and Drs and the orthodontist, who said nothing was wrong, I found a dentist who said to go for an MRI, and it showed my discs were displaced.

I have not yet had TMJ treatment as I have been passed around as my symptoms keep growing and no one understands it. I stopped my orthodontic treatment hoping things would settle, but they didn’t and things have got worse with my whole face and jaw rotating to the left in line with my upper arch and my lower jaw swinging to that side. My neck has pulled to the left. I am completely twisted. It is alarming, as I read that cranial bones shouldn’t move like this, but mine has.

After endless research, I decided to try Atlasprofilax with someone in London and I asked her if she could recommend anyone to help with my teeth, and she said you as you understand the cranial system. My other concern is a wobbly sore tooth that was one of the ones pulled down on the right as it receded rapidly after being moved there and has lots of root resorption. I don’t know if that tooth can be saved, but it’s not stable where it is, and I worry about the teeth next to it too. The teeth on the left that were not moved down on that final brace adjustment are fine and stable. I also should add that importantly, I am very unhappy with the look of my teeth. It is extra distressing to have terrible looking teeth on top of all the facial changes and jaw problems and pain. It is affecting me emotionally."

Another patient writes:
"I would like to book a consultation with Dr Amir after he has been recommended by word of mouth and online for the treatment of TMJD. I have been suffering badly for over 2 years with symptoms including blocked ears, a sore jaw, nighttime clenching, jaw muscle spasms, sore neck, and headaches, etc. I have an open bite and also my teeth are not fitting together properly.

[b]I had braces as a teen and 4 teeth removed which I'm sure is part of the problem, as I now tongue thrust and feel I have no space for my tongue. I have been to so many different doctors/ dentists NHS specialists and have been really disappointed with the care and have been fobbed off with nighttime guards, antidepressants and even told 'it's all in your own head'. I've become quite desperate and so after a great deal of time spent researching, I would like to have a consultation with Dr Amir after reading great things about his non-invasive treatment and holistic approach for TMD symptoms. Many thanks!"

Comment: This patient was also advised that her problems were due to the presence of her (symptom-free) wisdom teeth.

She listened to the advice and had them extracted at considerable cost, only to find that her symptoms deteriorated rapidly.

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