fwiw I had TMJ for a while and my dentist gave me a thing to help it at night, but it turns out tons of nutrient deficiencies cause TMJ and (at least in that case) it’s less about the actual tooth alignment than the jaw just wanting to clench. Something to consider is whether you have better or worse TMJ days, because if so, it suggests something other than teeth alignment is at least a factor, even if tooth alignment is too.
Based on your saying that you also have a headache in the back of your skull and poor dreams, B6 (supplement P5P, not normal B6) and/or magnesium deficiencies stand out as the most likely. I solved my own TMJ entirely with nutrients and I was able to help a few others as well.
It might also interest you to know that restless leg syndrome and TMJ are tightly linked via nutrient deficiencies too, in case you ever experience that (especially twitching yourself awake).
Some other nutrient deficiencies linked to TMJ are vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin (probably because it supports B6; its deficiency also causes do e headaches), niacin, folate, B12, zinc, and iron.
I’m curious if you’ve ever gotten a nutrient deficiency test like Spectracell or similar that actually analyzes intercellular levels of nutrients, because most tests analyze blood levels and are not especially useful since the body has lots of mechanisms for maintaining circulating levels of nutrients by simply pulling them out of cells.
Speaking from personal experience, doing unusual diets or taking supplements can easily deplete some nutrients, even and ESPECIALLY if you get good results from them; every effect that happens is the result of whatever you take or eat reacting with *something else.* We don’t have infinite supplies of everything, and often even when our bodies can make something, we can’t make it at the rate needed to keep up with whatever unusual thing we’re consuming. Then the things we can’t make, like minerals, are sometimes getting incorporated into new tissues/cells.
I actually developed TMJ when I was doing paleo back in 2012 and getting tons of health benefits from it. I just couldn’t get enough of the nutrients I needed from even a high nutrient diet like paleo to do everything my body wanted to do.
Let's look at the root cause. I wouldn't blame the TMJ on misaligned teeth, even if they are. I think the issue is the clenching, and that may have a cause as well.
I had TMJ when I was in the Marine Corps, and it was due to clenching my teeth at night. When I moved back into civilian life, I had far less stress, the clenching subsided, and my TMJ went away. When I currently have a particularly stressful day, I will wake up with a "tired" jaw and I know I was clenching my teeth in my sleep again. Fortunately, those stressful days are few and far between so the TMJ has never returned.
I know removing stress from ones life can be very difficult, but you seem like a guy who could really commit to it and see a noticeable difference. I guess that takes us a step further into the root cause rabbit hole as well--what is causing the stress?
I have used the Myosa appliance (myosa.com)for 6 months now and it really has done wonders for me. It works by correcting the bite and putting the tongue in the right resting position at the roof of the mouth. I had the same problem of clenching at night, having a bite that was off and waking up with a sore jaw and head. It can be very uncomfortable to wear in the beginning but you just got to keep trying. After a while I got used to it and eventually I stopped clenching at night. No more waking up with a sore jaw and headache. They have different appliances, my holistic dentist gave me the s2. Unlike regular mouthguards this actually corrects the problem. It worked for me anyway.
I think you're definitely on to something. I went down this rabbit hole last year and realised that my daughter's chronically swollen tonsils were probably due to her cross bite. So we're getting that fixed now with a palatal expander. I don't think many people realise how your bite can affect so much of your overall health.
I have this same thing and it sucks! It’s lame that sleep can be so exhausting. Thank you for sharing, I think lots of people have this problem and it’s so frustrating that dentists have no real solution for this but will take your money as they experiment. I tried to comment on your YouTube video about your sleep routine but I think it looked “spammy” and YouTube removed it. I finally found a device that worked and has solved my sleep problems. I clench and grind my teeth for years likely caused by some botched dental work. In addition to massive jaw muscles I have some canines that are sharp as razors. The problem for me was that I think I was subconsciously trying to keep my jaw shut but I somehow became a mouth breather. The expensive problem the dentists were always trying to solved never worked because the alignment was way different when I sleep as the muscles completely change the way the jaw sat. So I had a mouth guard to protect my teeth because nights that I forgot it I would wake up with migraines and chipped teeth. That’s when I discovered mouthtape to force myself to breathe through my nose. It helped my mouth not be dry as a bone in the morning, but I’d often have a hard time breathing through my nose even when it was completely clear. So then I got the nasal breathe strips to help with that. But that was a bit ridiculous, I looked like a freak and took quite some time getting all the glue off my face and beard. So I found a device on Amazon that replaced all three things. It keeps my mouth closed using suction. It makes me grind way less. The most surprising thing too was that by retraining my tongue to naturally rest on the roof of my mouth, it somehow makes my nose work again where I can get sufficient air, even when I’m stuffed up! The device is a silicon strip that goes between your teeth and lips. I cant link to it as I don’t want to risk getting my comment removed again. It took a few weeks to get used to it. It does take a few weeks to get in the habit of resting your tongue on the roof of your mouth both day and night, so hang with it. At first it didn’t feel like it was “rest” at all, but now a year later it’s quite natural. Most nights I don’t need the device at all, but it’s hard to know in advanced if I’ve got stress that will cause me to sleep weird so i keep it on the nightstand.
You should definitely be looking more into PRI and what Neil is doing. Find someone actively doing PRI and has taken their Cervical and Cranium course. Aleena Kanner on IG is a good place to get some exposure. US and Japan probably have the most practitioners.
I'm also suffering TMJ issues, my jaw clicks, pains and also have developed asymmetry that wasn't before, TMJ issues and asymmetry happened together. Right side of my face is more developed and right side of jaw bone is slightly lower in x-ray almost as shown in the thumbnail of video of Neal Hallinan. I also clench my teeth at night but in a specific way, I push the upper jaw teeth towards right side using my lower jaw teeth, I do it in sleep. Right side masseter is also more developed than left. I am unable to find any cure/treatment for it, dentists are only prescribing TENS therapy which only help in pain management not in underlying issue.
If anyone have any suggestions, advice, something that worked for them, please share
I have tmj also, and can make a crunching sound when I tense my jaw, sounds weird but you'll know what I mean if you get this sound as well. I will also say that my teeth meet in the premolar are and not at the back so that's something, not sure why that is the case though I've never had any problems with my teeth really or any fillings etc
You might want to check out Starecta, an orthodontic device which works based on Neal's theory. I discovered it while going down a mewing/TMJ rabbit hole, but haven't tried it myself.
I have TMJ that started soon after my remaining 3 wisdom teeth were removed, so the whole misalignment of things makes sense to me - that’s how I’ve seen it. A few years later it calmed down a bit to the point where it’s just night-time teeth grinding that’s affecting me (and the only reason I know I do this is because my dentist showed me the ‘wear and tear’ caused by it). Sadly mine doesn’t come with a killer jawline like yours!
fwiw I had TMJ for a while and my dentist gave me a thing to help it at night, but it turns out tons of nutrient deficiencies cause TMJ and (at least in that case) it’s less about the actual tooth alignment than the jaw just wanting to clench. Something to consider is whether you have better or worse TMJ days, because if so, it suggests something other than teeth alignment is at least a factor, even if tooth alignment is too.
Based on your saying that you also have a headache in the back of your skull and poor dreams, B6 (supplement P5P, not normal B6) and/or magnesium deficiencies stand out as the most likely. I solved my own TMJ entirely with nutrients and I was able to help a few others as well.
It might also interest you to know that restless leg syndrome and TMJ are tightly linked via nutrient deficiencies too, in case you ever experience that (especially twitching yourself awake).
Some other nutrient deficiencies linked to TMJ are vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin (probably because it supports B6; its deficiency also causes do e headaches), niacin, folate, B12, zinc, and iron.
I’m curious if you’ve ever gotten a nutrient deficiency test like Spectracell or similar that actually analyzes intercellular levels of nutrients, because most tests analyze blood levels and are not especially useful since the body has lots of mechanisms for maintaining circulating levels of nutrients by simply pulling them out of cells.
Speaking from personal experience, doing unusual diets or taking supplements can easily deplete some nutrients, even and ESPECIALLY if you get good results from them; every effect that happens is the result of whatever you take or eat reacting with *something else.* We don’t have infinite supplies of everything, and often even when our bodies can make something, we can’t make it at the rate needed to keep up with whatever unusual thing we’re consuming. Then the things we can’t make, like minerals, are sometimes getting incorporated into new tissues/cells.
I actually developed TMJ when I was doing paleo back in 2012 and getting tons of health benefits from it. I just couldn’t get enough of the nutrients I needed from even a high nutrient diet like paleo to do everything my body wanted to do.
Let's look at the root cause. I wouldn't blame the TMJ on misaligned teeth, even if they are. I think the issue is the clenching, and that may have a cause as well.
I had TMJ when I was in the Marine Corps, and it was due to clenching my teeth at night. When I moved back into civilian life, I had far less stress, the clenching subsided, and my TMJ went away. When I currently have a particularly stressful day, I will wake up with a "tired" jaw and I know I was clenching my teeth in my sleep again. Fortunately, those stressful days are few and far between so the TMJ has never returned.
I know removing stress from ones life can be very difficult, but you seem like a guy who could really commit to it and see a noticeable difference. I guess that takes us a step further into the root cause rabbit hole as well--what is causing the stress?
I have used the Myosa appliance (myosa.com)for 6 months now and it really has done wonders for me. It works by correcting the bite and putting the tongue in the right resting position at the roof of the mouth. I had the same problem of clenching at night, having a bite that was off and waking up with a sore jaw and head. It can be very uncomfortable to wear in the beginning but you just got to keep trying. After a while I got used to it and eventually I stopped clenching at night. No more waking up with a sore jaw and headache. They have different appliances, my holistic dentist gave me the s2. Unlike regular mouthguards this actually corrects the problem. It worked for me anyway.
You may have come across this talk by Dr. Dwight Jennings (since you mentioned him)? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK7iGyBNROk&list=WL&index=21&t=2216s
I think you're definitely on to something. I went down this rabbit hole last year and realised that my daughter's chronically swollen tonsils were probably due to her cross bite. So we're getting that fixed now with a palatal expander. I don't think many people realise how your bite can affect so much of your overall health.
I have this same thing and it sucks! It’s lame that sleep can be so exhausting. Thank you for sharing, I think lots of people have this problem and it’s so frustrating that dentists have no real solution for this but will take your money as they experiment. I tried to comment on your YouTube video about your sleep routine but I think it looked “spammy” and YouTube removed it. I finally found a device that worked and has solved my sleep problems. I clench and grind my teeth for years likely caused by some botched dental work. In addition to massive jaw muscles I have some canines that are sharp as razors. The problem for me was that I think I was subconsciously trying to keep my jaw shut but I somehow became a mouth breather. The expensive problem the dentists were always trying to solved never worked because the alignment was way different when I sleep as the muscles completely change the way the jaw sat. So I had a mouth guard to protect my teeth because nights that I forgot it I would wake up with migraines and chipped teeth. That’s when I discovered mouthtape to force myself to breathe through my nose. It helped my mouth not be dry as a bone in the morning, but I’d often have a hard time breathing through my nose even when it was completely clear. So then I got the nasal breathe strips to help with that. But that was a bit ridiculous, I looked like a freak and took quite some time getting all the glue off my face and beard. So I found a device on Amazon that replaced all three things. It keeps my mouth closed using suction. It makes me grind way less. The most surprising thing too was that by retraining my tongue to naturally rest on the roof of my mouth, it somehow makes my nose work again where I can get sufficient air, even when I’m stuffed up! The device is a silicon strip that goes between your teeth and lips. I cant link to it as I don’t want to risk getting my comment removed again. It took a few weeks to get used to it. It does take a few weeks to get in the habit of resting your tongue on the roof of your mouth both day and night, so hang with it. At first it didn’t feel like it was “rest” at all, but now a year later it’s quite natural. Most nights I don’t need the device at all, but it’s hard to know in advanced if I’ve got stress that will cause me to sleep weird so i keep it on the nightstand.
how is the strip called?
You should definitely be looking more into PRI and what Neil is doing. Find someone actively doing PRI and has taken their Cervical and Cranium course. Aleena Kanner on IG is a good place to get some exposure. US and Japan probably have the most practitioners.
interesting. tmj is a pretty unknown condition
I'm also suffering TMJ issues, my jaw clicks, pains and also have developed asymmetry that wasn't before, TMJ issues and asymmetry happened together. Right side of my face is more developed and right side of jaw bone is slightly lower in x-ray almost as shown in the thumbnail of video of Neal Hallinan. I also clench my teeth at night but in a specific way, I push the upper jaw teeth towards right side using my lower jaw teeth, I do it in sleep. Right side masseter is also more developed than left. I am unable to find any cure/treatment for it, dentists are only prescribing TENS therapy which only help in pain management not in underlying issue.
If anyone have any suggestions, advice, something that worked for them, please share
Gotta modulate your stress buddy! It’s a big part of it. My wife has TMJ
This exact thing is happening to me right now with my teeth and jaw. I'm so happy to finally get some real insight into this.
I believe I have the same issue, except that I am a woman and we don’t like strong jaws on women in Asian culture :(
Have you tried chiropractic to align the tmj and soft tissue work on the muscles?
I have tmj also, and can make a crunching sound when I tense my jaw, sounds weird but you'll know what I mean if you get this sound as well. I will also say that my teeth meet in the premolar are and not at the back so that's something, not sure why that is the case though I've never had any problems with my teeth really or any fillings etc
You might want to check out Starecta, an orthodontic device which works based on Neal's theory. I discovered it while going down a mewing/TMJ rabbit hole, but haven't tried it myself.
I have TMJ that started soon after my remaining 3 wisdom teeth were removed, so the whole misalignment of things makes sense to me - that’s how I’ve seen it. A few years later it calmed down a bit to the point where it’s just night-time teeth grinding that’s affecting me (and the only reason I know I do this is because my dentist showed me the ‘wear and tear’ caused by it). Sadly mine doesn’t come with a killer jawline like yours!
Do you have any thoughts on the safety of the resin material that's used for this kind of orthodontic treatment?