Is TMJ pain a disability?

[Mellow85]

Just curious because maybe TMJ victims could get compensation of disability money for having to live with this in their lives for a long amount of time in most cases. It does limit the things we could do if you think about it. Sometimes we can't even do certain physical things, like we are better off getting a job where we could sit around all day, don't you think?

[Zoso]

I don't know that a desk job is any better for a TMD sufferer than a more physical job. I don't dispute that continuous pain can be difficult to deal with, but I think in the majority of cases it would be a massive stretch to try to claim disability for TMD.

[jenn773]

I've looked into insurance for getting braces because of TMJ..and that's a no go, mainly because braces aren't PROVEN to fix it. But I do know that if you are diagnosed with TMJ and decided to do surgery, Blue Cross Blue Shield will cover some!

[Zoso]

Not always. In fact some insurance policies that might cover orthognathic surgery in other scenarios explicitly exclude it for TMD.

Health insurance is a minefield!

[KattyKimK]

I don't think it is quite a "disability", unfortunately.

[smilez4me]

While it sure can feel like a "disability" I can say there is hope! I was is such terrible pain in every way. Life was just plain MISERABLE! You name all the symtoms of TMJ and I had them all. It was in talking with my sister that learned of treatment called MAGO. The orthadontist I see is also a level 3 in bioesthetics dentistry.(OBI) Its all about treating the problem not just the symtoms. After wearing my MAGO splint for 3 months I am now ready for braces. I can say with in the first week of wearing the splint I noticed a HUGE difference and now all my TMJ nightmare symtoms are gone.

You can google "MAGO TMJ" and it will come up with great information. Below is also the website for OBI
I cant imagine having braces with TMJ! ugh

OBI Foundation - Patient FAQ