Anyone experience bruxism/TMJ without their own teeth?

Put two pounds of rice in a long sock and tie it off at the top. Heat in microwave two minutes. Apply to jaws, either around back of neck or under jaws 20 min at a time. Or use water bottle. Must be moist heat to relax jaws. Also if you feel safe using Benadryl, one at bedtime can prevent morning TMJ headache.

I had some cavities filled a few weeks ago and my jaw pain following that was so bad I had to make an emergency appointment with my masseuse. It finally got a little better but then one the teeth that had a filling got infected and needed a root canal. I had the root canal yesterday on the lower right side of my mouth. Had my mouth open for two hours and once the local anesthetic wore off I was in so much pain. The area around the tooth hurts a lot but my jaw and the joint are on fire. And I can’t do NSAIDs so ice and Tylenol and heat are all I’ve got. Doctors and dentists really have nothing to offer in terms of effective treatment. It’s awful. People avoid dental work but then end up requiring more dental work. It’s a vicious cycle. After this I’m going to be terrified to go through this again. It’s so painful. The tooth pain is manageable but the jaw pain feels like someone took a sledgehammer to my face! I need to look into more aggressive treatments of tmdd because this is such a chronic issue I deal with.

supernova, https://beverlyhillstmjheadachepain.com/conditions/tmj-muscle/essentials/tmj-animation-images/supernova, this link gives a careful animation of what happens with various TMJ injuries. I hope you can find someone to help.

@gently
Get the dentist to use a block. It holds the jaw open instead of you.
Relax your jaw, put thumb on molars and gently pull down. It helps the jaw and muscles up and into your temple.
Hope this helps.