I'm a prisoner in my own mouth

Hello There My Lovelies......

I went to the dentist this week. My jaws not only click, but you can also hear a cracking noise almost every time I eat or yawn. Just fully biting down and closing my mouth is awkward. I can hear a click when I bite down, and it's strong. It's slowly gotten worse in the past couple of years. Sometimes you can hear the pop in the other room. Not only is there tension, but there is pain, sometimes in my head.

I didn't realize I had such a problem until I saw my cousin who has his own practice. This whole time my current dentist just told me to get braces and that braces would solve my problems. Apparently she was wrong.

I was told that my joints are damaged, and because they swell, that's what's causing the clicking and popping, and therefore causing more irritation. Plus I grind my teeth in my sleep. I didn't even know I was doing that.

I've been stressed out for the past couple of years due to a lot of life changes. I don't usually take my anger out on others, nor do I drink or do drugs. Apparently I take it out on myself, in my sleep.

I was also told that in addition to grinding my teeth, something else must've happened to cause the misplacement in my jaws. I thought back to when I was doing martial arts. I once got kicked in the chin when I was 13. It didn't hurt back then, but there was some force involved. I was also smacked once pretty hard in the teeth. Who knows at this point. I wish I could get answers as to why this is happening.

My dentist also told me I may have developed arthritis. Are you kidding ? In my effing jaws ???? I never thought I would hear arthritis. I've heard of a lot of nasty conditions in my family, but arthritis was not one of them.

So he made me a mouth guard. It looks so simple, it's made of hard plastic. But it took forever to make, and file down to fit my teeth and jaw placement perfectly. It was complicated because my jaws shift a little too. That little piece of equipment looks so simple, but it's so expensive.

But I am really happy to have a shot at having a normal mouth again, where I feel like a normal person. I wore it last night, and while it was a little uncomfortable, at least I wasn't grinding my teeth and inflaming the joints.

I look forward to feeling somewhat normal in the future.