How TMJ is Affecting Me, And How I Am Finding Relief?

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” ― Coco Chanel

Before I start scaring the hell out of you all, I would want to explain what TMJ is?

As per Google, The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the joint that connects your mandible (lower jaw) to your skull. The joint can be found on both sides of your head in front of your ears. It allows your jaw to open and close, enabling you to speak and eat.

This is exactly where I have been facing an issue. My left jaw has become stubborn, irritating, and produces pain when I try to eat something. It started almost three to four weeks ago because I chewed gum for two hours every day after lunch and dinner.

Thank you for calling me a fool in your brain, but I heard you.

I didn’t get a clue how I became so addicted to chewing gum post my lunch and dinner that it has affected my left jaw acutely.

My experience of visiting known dentists

I went to a nearby dentist who usually sees my father when he experiences terrible pain in his mouth and teeth. It was stupid of me to visit her. I explained to her all the symptoms which were like:

• Experiencing pain in the left jaw when I opened my mouth to chew something.
• A slight sensation from my left jaw to the skull.
• Unable to open my mouth wide.
• Muscular pain in the jaw.

I believe she didn’t understand what I was facing. She did take the name TMJ, but she grated my wisdom tooth thinking it’s my wisdom tooth that was creating the problem.

Luckily, I have no cavity in my teeth and my mouth is fine. The next time I visited her she didn’t do anything except stressing on one point that I am taking mental stress a lot.

On hearing that, I got so irate and fixed her right away. I told her stress is a part of our lives like food. Tell me something that you can truly fix because I don’t want you to fix my teeth when there is no issue. She couldn’t suggest more than opting for hot fermentation sessions at home and gargles with salt and turmeric water.

This didn’t help me at all.

After a week I visited my family ENT, and he got hold of my issue. He was honest and told me that dentist cannot resolve what I have been diagnosed with. He recommended me an awesome government hospital in Delhi “Maulana Azad Dental Hospital.” And to recommend this he charged me Rs. 1000 (USD 13.44).

I visited this hospital yesterday with my mother. I had to stand in a long queue to get one pink slip for Rs. 10 (USD 0.13 cents). After that, I had to get one yellow card with all my details on it including my name, marital status, age, and address.

After completing these formalities, I had to stand in another queue where one female wrote the issues I was facing and recommended me to the concerned doctor. I visited the doctor and got the medicines and his services for free.

Yes, I repeat for free.

It was my first visit so I didn’t know that in government hospitals they don’t charge you anything except the pink slip they make that too for the new customers or those who are visiting the hospital for the first time. I kept on asking for doctor’s fees and at the chemist, I asked how much I needed to pay for medicines.

I was stunned to see the free services.

But I was equally elated that I visited the best doctor.

What he has suggest me is…

• Two medicines that I need to take thrice a day,
• One gel that I need to apply once a day,
• And hot fermentation four times a day.

TMJ has taught me many things in life and above all, it has taught me not all doctors are good. Some will grate your teeth for no such issue and keep on coming up with excuses. Some will charge you a lot to update you about the whereabouts of the next doctor. Some will truly heal you and greet you with folded hands when you would ask them how much to pay sir?

This has made me think once again what kind of cunning world this is but at the same time, I am seeing the silver lining too. There are truly some genuine souls in this world be it in the form of doctors, and we must thank them for whom they truly are.

Final Words

I have seen lots of tweets on TMJ on Twitter and some people have got it because of wearing masks 24–7.

I would request you all to take care of your face as much as your mental health. You got to be careful for the hours you have been wearing the mask and break it into small cycles. I don’t want any person to experience TMJ because it’s truly a scary disorder.

Gurpreet Dhariwal is the author of “My Soul Rants: Poems of a Born Spectator.” Her eBook is now available at Google PlayStore, Amazon, and Kindle. Connect with Gurpreet on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube