Damon System- Jaw Cracking/Clicking

[ashleyhowarth]

Hey Everyone,

Been a while since I have been on this site. Anyway, I have a question and hoping that someone can help me. So I got my Damons put on in January 2010. In February of this year I went in for an ortho check and they were thinking that I may have been able to get my braces off in August (this month). For a while now though (and I did let them know this when it started happening) I have been having a clicking/cracking sound coming from my left side of my jaw when I chew food or even just open my mouth wide and then close. Its been very annoying. So at my last appointment in May/June he said we have to pull my top teeth a little forward to correct it. He weaved 2 wires through my top brackets. I was pretty disspointed because I thought I was going to be getting my braces off . So then I was told it looks like im most likely going to have to keep them till closer to the original date which is October of this year. So they booked me to come in for September...thats next month and its so close and my jaw is still clicking and driving me insane..

Im wondering if anyone else has had this problem? Or even why this has happened? Just my luck... I want these things off..

[ashleyhowarth]

Anyone.... ????

[lightskinnnn38]

I'm not an expert on popping or clicking jaws, but I hope this info I found is useful:

The popping sound may be coming from the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). This joint is located between the jaw and the side of the skull, about half an inch in front of your ears. Overuse of this joint can cause pain, and the popping sound you hear may mean the joint is being overused or is partially slipping out of the socket. This slippage, called subluxation, may be more common in people with a dental misalignment such as an overbite or an underbite.

Grinding the teeth at times of stress or during sleep, called bruxism, can also place excess stress on the TMJ and wear down the surface of the teeth.

The most common symptom is an aching in the area of the joint, sometimes mistaken for an earache or a headache. In rare cases the jaw can actually dislocate and requires medical attention to put it back in alignment. Put the tips of your little fingers inside the ear canal and gently press forward. You will be pressing directly on the TMJ. If this causes pain, you probably have TMJ overuse.

[Sunny]

This sounds like a problem related to your jaw joint ... which does not mean it's related to your ortho treatment. A visit to your dentist to have this checked would be wise.

Good luck!

[abbaker]

Exactly what I was going to say, Sunny. I don't think the Damon system or any brackets are going to be the direct cause of TMD. Maybe your ortho treatment has caused your bite to change, and that is creating new stresses on your jaw that weren't there before (that could explain the clicking). My jaw started clicking in highschool (5+ years ago) and after only a few months into my ortho treatment, the clicking had been drastically reduced. I am getting fewer "ear aches" and "head aches" (symptoms mentioned in lightskinnnn38's post).

If it's not treated now, it may come back to haunt you later. And really, a couple extra months isn't so bad. Some people on here (Sunny, for example) had braces for over 5 years dude!!! I'd be stoked to have my braces off this October! Haha. Good luck with everything, hope your jaw feels better

[PrimalNut]

I've had that clicking,popping (and painful when doing so) for years until 1 day I bit into a hazelnut and my jaw locked up.
My jaw was locked up for 5 days. They decided it won't open on its own and I needed 'surgery'. The 'surgery' was performed under anesthesia, took about 45 minutes and was done with a long needle and some chemical liquid. I am not sure what they did and what the chemical was, but my joint was fixed afterwards. Clicking, popping and pain gone. This procedure did cost $ 1200,00 and my health insurance (not dental insurance) covered the entire thing.

When deciding to fix my bite so I can avoid future popping and clicking my Ortho told me that I had a crossbite and a slight open bite on the left side of my face, causing me to make contact with teeth on my right side first and pushing down hard to meet the other side. This caused my jaw to move around in my TMJ with every bite I took (in the wrong way) putting severe stress on that joint.
Also, since I had a malocclusion type 2, my lower jaw was held backwards through muscle strength and caused clenching over night (for hours)...again popping my joint into a direction it shouldn't go. And causing me tension throughout my jaw, TMJ and neck.
We fixed the crossbite, open bite and narrow pre-molars...my lower jaw was able to move forward and relax in its natural position.

[ashleyhowarth]

Thanks for all your responses. Glad to know that I am not the only one that has this issue, although im still not convinced its not from my braces. I truly beleive its from how he made me wear my elastics for a few months...it made my jaw pull one way more then the other. I had an appointment again in September and asked how the clicking was...I told him its still there and he said well there isnt anything he can do about it. He said that I must have had a blow to the side of my face when I was younger...I thought that was a pretty bold assumption. Seems a little weird that I have never had this issue before and now all a sudden after having the braces this happens. I tell ya, nothing ever goes smooth for me. Im not very happy about it but it sounds like there is nothing I can do about it..had I known this was gonna happen I never wuolda went thru with it. Its super annoying and causes headaches all the time...oh and I also DONT get my braces off this month either now... they dont know when now...SUCKS!!