jaw issues

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flowerpower

New member
Joined
Apr 29, 2018
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7
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
04/2012
Country
CA
State
Ontario
City
Toronto
Hi friends! :)
I have been wondering about jaw issues, specifically underbites.
I never really see it mentioned, but my bite has been affected. Has anyone had similar experiences with that, or developed jaw problems since getting sick?
I would love to figure out what the deal is, and how to possibly correct it!
 
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Hm, I haven't noticed bite changes in terms of overbite/underbite, but I do get uncontrollable shaking jaw/teeth chattering (clonus). I also get jaw cramps and biting issues like accidentally biting the sides of my mouth all the time.
 
flower, do you have more spasticity in your jaw? Or is it more of an issue with weakness and lax muscle? Any "hanging" joint- shoulders, jaw, elbow- depends on muscle and tendon/ligament to keep everything together. If the joint is affected by muscles either too loose or too tight, it will pull out of alignment or drop in some way and prevent proper function. It would depend on the issue- limitation due to muscle tightness or looseness that causes dislocation, or both.

My personal experience is with spasticity. As Kristina, I get chattering and biting. My jaw is also stiff and pulls to one side if I'm not paying attention, which causes some limitations. My teeth don't always "meet" properly and I have to be way more conscious. So for being more aware of my movements and slowing down is all that's needed. It's also been suggested I wear a night guard to keep my jaw and teeth protected when I clench and chatter at night in my sleep.

It sounds like you may need to get an assessment of function by someone who knows the mechanics of jaw movement to provide some personally tailored solutions. It may be as simple as finding a massage therapist or physio who can help relax your jaw muscles to the point where your bite is less affected. But if it's a looseness issue, you may need some other form of support. Displacement of a jaw can cause disabling migraines and tooth pain, so I can imagine how this might be an issue too, depending on how a jaw is affected by dysregulated movement.
 
lots of jaw issues here. I get bad spasms in jaw, lots of teeth chattering after spasms and weak muscles to hold mouth shut. I use chin strap more a more to hold it closed so air from bipap does not escape. Just another part of the als adventure,
 
I get spasticity which results in biting Lips, cheeks, tongue about 20 times a day. I also grind my teeth fairly consistently. My neuro gave me botox injections in my jaws which helped me some but didn't eliminate it.
 
I too have problems with chattering and biting the side of my mouth. Also, when I yawn it is so wide it’s almost like it’s going to cause my jaw to dislocate. Are all of you Bulbar onset?
 
no, limb onset, but almost five years since symptoms began
yawning the same here and frequent
 
my husband's bite has changed to where he has an underbite - I think it happens when he is having difficulty breathing. His jaw also locks.
 
My husband, Brian, also clenches and grinds. He asked for a mouth guard, like used for sports. I picked up a cheap one at Walmart, heated it and molded to his teeth, he likes it and wears it almost constantly, except for cleaning for occasional time we suction out his mouth.

Hugs,

Sue
 
azgirl, you are the first one I have heard mention frequent yawning! I thought it was just because of fatigue, but maybe this is a normal, but not so scary, symptom of this lovely disease we all know so well! Some things, I’m learning, we just deal with as we can. Other things scare or worry the heck out of us!
 
I have all of the above. Mouth biting is something I am good at. My bite has changed and it feels like my tongue is too big for my mouth, tongue biting is very unpleasant.

I also have yawning fits where I open my mouth to the point of subluxation and when it slams shut involves tongue and/or mouth biting. Teeth grinding can be a real b!tch, I have popped one of my crowns off and think some of my molars are cracked.

I keep putting of a trip to the dentist cuz I don't think I could sit still and avoid gagging constantly (my gag reflex is bionic). Besides it is kind of a waste of money, my teeth only need to last a few more years. The only thing that could make go to the dentist would be extreme pain.
 
Bigmark- I'm going to be your mom here for a second and give you a talking to about your teeth and dental health. I come from a family of Scots with seriously bad teeth and resulting health issues and know of what I speak.

Dental issues can cause you the burden of body wide inflammation, introduce seriously unfriendly bacteria into your lungs via saliva aspiration and leave your immune system under immense pressure from low level infections. Maybe get a check up occasionally to make sure you don't have any infections, but don't splash out on the fancy crowns and stuff unless you're in pain.

Kim T posted something a while back to help educate dentists about treating those with ALS. https://www.alsforums.com/forum/gen...d/41276-suggestions-comments-dental-care.html There might be something helpful in there to help with jaw stuff.

Also, scotch makes a really dandy disinfectant...
 
wow, thanks so much for your replies! I'm still a beginner here on this forum, and this is the first place (6 years in) that I've chatted with other PALS. I feel really grateful to have found this resource with such fantastic people, although I wish we weren't faced with these problems (obviously, duh!).

I have the biting thing too sometimes, although I would say it's more like a chewing set of movements and then clenching and grinding in my case - totally annoying! So I guess spasticity is the culprit. I have also had the jaw pulling to the side, similar to what Shiftkicker described I think. I also have periods of excessive salivation, to add insult to injury!

I was asked by a Respiratory Therapist (RT) if I had ever tried botox in my jaw, at the time I was trying to open my mouth wide for her to see something. I thought it was kind of random at the time, because no one (nurses) had heard of doing that, but I'm going to inquire about possibly trying it, and a mouth guard.

I have been seeing ENT residents about an ear infection (the WORST, ear infections should be shot!), and I did ask about my bite. The answer so far is they would look into it, and it might be a dentists' area of expertise.

I have the yawning too, sometimes.
 
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