Those of us with TMJ pain will try just about anything to get relief, so please don't beat yourself up. I have been to see so many medical professionals that it makes my head spin. From what I have read, any dentist can call himself/herself a specialist in TMJ pain reduction. There is, as far as I recall, no specialization within the American Dental Association for TMJ pain reduction.

The dentist I used to go to declared himself an "expert" on TMJ pain. There are so many other "experts" in it where I live. One so-called expert fits everyone with a mouthguard--for TMJ pain or for sleep apnea--which, he declares, solves all problems. I have been wearing a dentist-made mouthguard for something like 20 years because I grind my teeth at night. I developed TMJ pain in September 2016, despite my mouthguard. So, no way am I going to this dentist.

An oral surgeon whom I saw did 360-degree x-rays of my mouth and found no joint damage. He told me that I was therefore not a candidate for surgery. That relieved me, actually, because I've read that surgical outcomes for TMJ pain are usually not good. All he could offer me was a prescription for Flexeril, a muscle relaxer.

Next week, I'm going to see one of the few physicians in my state who is approved to prescribe medical marijuana in hopes that that will give me some relief. It's a long process to get approved to take MM. We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I cut my Tylenol + codeine tablets (prescribed by my former dentist) in half to make them last longer. Sigh.

Hazel