Well, some of you may remember a little while ago that I posted that something was up with my jaw and today it has been very temperamental so after going to the dentist and not being able to open my mouth properly he has said that I have TMJ which means the cartilage in my jaw joint is out of whack. So basically from now on I have to wear a gum guard which will soften my bite and hopefully decrease the pressure that I'm putting on my teeth and jaw. And I've been told not to have chewy foods from now on. However does anyone know how long it might take for it to heal or how long before I can eat normally?
If you can take it easy and wear the bite guard at night and whenever necessary, the condition will quiet down considerably. Overall it may take up to 6 - 8 weeks, as cartilage heals about as fast as bone, due mainly to the poor blood supply to it. This time can be set back some if there is any injury to the area during the healing process, so do things cautiously.
I wear a bite guard every night. Prior to finding my good existing dentist I would wake up with headaches etc., due to teeth grinding. I have no more pointed canines and all my teeth are about 3/4 of their normal size because of all the grinding.
