Jaw Problems

[Dave Crampton]

Jaw Problems:

I dived on Sunday at Abbs, and came out of the first dive unable to open my Jaw properly. It was locked on the right side. I was quite concerned until later in the day I found that closing my mouth/teeth together and then moving the Jaw to the left I was able to then slowly open my Jaw fully. The Jaw / cheek muscle felt tense on the right side as though a muscle had cramped up. But the jaw definately had a limit. It was not, opening and getting stiffer, as it opened, rather it open to a certain point and was locked and prevented from opening any wider. Luckyly on the dive I was able to open my jaw far enough to get the reg in.. That would have been worrying, being unable to open my jaw if I took out my reg mid dive.. to replace it.

I was wondering if anyone else on here had experienced this. I'm concerned that it might have been due to the cold and my tensing of the jaw, as a result. I'm off to Norway in June and themp is forcast to be a chilly 6 degrees.. bbrrrr...

Also, listening to the radio I heard that a lady who works on the Dave Pearce show broke her jaw whist diving in the red sea over Christmas. She put it down to btting too hard on her reg. Could this be related?

Dave C

[Rick Huggins]

Could be your biting down to hard on the gaurd, could be trapped air under a filling, could be talking too much the night before

I've had something similar and put it down to trapped air under a tooth. I have since had it checked by a peg quack and all is fine, just something that can happen with N2 bubbles!

[MATTBIN]

Dave
I had a similar problem a few years ago, before I started diving, and it was indeed a tension thing. I worked for a guy that really wound me up. So much so that I almost couldnt open my jaw wide enough to eat a biscuit. The jaw is suspended on muscles etc and its these that get really tensed up, also there is a piece of cartilidge(sp?) up there near the ear and you sometimes hear it come out of place with an almighty crack. It was suggested by my dentist I get a brace to put in my mouth overnight to reduce the tension. I didnt do this, I soon after moved where I worked and it went away and has never come back. However the last two dives I have done I have had something similar re-appear, I certainly dont feel any more tense than last year but I have changed regs (hence mouthpiece) have you? I'd suggest trying new mouthpieces if you have changed regs/mouthpieces recently. Oddly enough I am now using a small reg than last year so its not been induced by an increase in weight, in fact the opposite.

HTH
Matt

edit - has this only started since you were outed in the Freemans catalogue?

[Lynne]

Originally Posted by MATTBIN

Dave
I had a similar problem a few years ago, before I started diving, and it was indeed a tension thing. I worked for a guy that really wound me up. So much so that I almost couldnt open my jaw wide enough to eat a biscuit. The jaw is suspended on muscles etc and its these that get really tensed up, also there is a piece of cartilidge(sp?) up there near the ear and you sometimes hear it come out of place with an almighty crack. It was suggested by my dentist I get a brace to put in my mouth overnight to reduce the tension. I didnt do this, I soon after moved where I worked and it went away and has never come back. However the last two dives I have done I have had something similar re-appear, I certainly dont feel any more tense than last year but I have changed regs (hence mouthpiece) have you? I'd suggest trying new mouthpieces if you have changed regs/mouthpieces recently. Oddly enough I am now using a small reg than last year so its not been induced by an increase in weight, in fact the opposite.

HTH
Matt

I had the same problem when stressed (living with my Ex!!!) and the dentist gave me the same advice - removal of stress (leaving the ex!!!)solved the problem but I have to try and stop myself biting down when I'm having a really exciting dive and actually remove my reg then put it back again to make my jaw more relaxed. It happens more to me when using larger mouthpieces and now I have the smallest one I can find which is far more comfortable

[Helen F H]

When i get stressed, i grit my teeth in my sleep, to the point to i give myself toothache!
However, one of my mates gave up diving and gave me her old bits and bobs, including a hood. Once i couldnt find my old one, and wore that one instead. Only a mistake i will make once. It was uncomfortable throughout the dive, and was sore like yours for a couple of days afterwards. I think it was one of the ones with unlined neoprene around the face, and it was very small. However, this was only with the new hood.
Try a Jax mouthpiece as not only do they make it easier to hold the reg, but they distribute the stress over more of the teeth than a normal one.

[Paul Beal]

I have this problem occasionally. There was a period of about 2 years when I could only open my mouth enough to fit 2 fingers between my teeth (I can now fit 3, nearly 4). The jaw joint has 2 motions, the hinge motion opens it half way and then a sliding motion opens it fully. It was the sliding motion I had problems with.

The problem happened occasionally at first when I woke up in the morning. A short period of time laying the joint on my hand while still in bed sorted it out. It then didn't clear at all so I went to my GP and was refered to a maxillofacial specialist who made me a mouth guard (the same as a rugby one but thicker) this worked but I was still locked occasionally. I was then referred to a consultant dentisty type person (can't remember the exact term) who was going to put me under a general anaesthetic to inject saline into the joint. This would restore the slide motion to allow full joint function. I had however just been in hospital because of my glandular fever and so the anaethetist advised me to wait 6 months. In that time the problem cleared itself.

My jaw is still very noisy but does not cause me any hassle most of the time. I still lock up if I have had a particularly cold dive or have been biting my mouth piece too hard. Again, gentle warming and pressure seems to release it. If you are unsure go and see your GP who will probably look at you blankly before referring you.

Good luck!

Paul

[Josie]

Hi honey

The above posts are really helpful. I think that you grind your teeth in the night sometimes - get one of those sexy mouth guards from the dentist. Strangely enough I have bitten through mouthpieces (in the Red Sea in November!!) but don't have the same problem as you, although I do tend to grit my teeth when I'm stressed.

Do you want to change dentists and register with Ann, our diving dentist?

Josie

[Andy the Coastie]

Originally Posted by Dave Crampton

Jaw Problems:

I dived on Sunday at Abbs, and came out of the first dive unable to open my Jaw properly. It was locked on the right side. I was quite concerned until later in the day I found that closing my mouth/teeth together and then moving the Jaw to the left I was able to then slowly open my Jaw fully. The Jaw / cheek muscle felt tense on the right side as though a muscle had cramped up. But the jaw definately had a limit. It was not, opening and getting stiffer, as it opened, rather it open to a certain point and was locked and prevented from opening any wider. Luckyly on the dive I was able to open my jaw far enough to get the reg in.. That would have been worrying, being unable to open my jaw if I took out my reg mid dive.. to replace it.

I was wondering if anyone else on here had experienced this. I'm concerned that it might have been due to the cold and my tensing of the jaw, as a result. I'm off to Norway in June and themp is forcast to be a chilly 6 degrees.. bbrrrr...

Also, listening to the radio I heard that a lady who works on the Dave Pearce show broke her jaw whist diving in the red sea over Christmas. She put it down to btting too hard on her reg. Could this be related?

Dave C

Dave,

get yaself to the dentist first, to me it sounds like your TMJ Tempro Mandidular Joint.....i had that problem and it ain't funny when it lasted a year, mind you having to go to the hospital once a week for 3 months was nice for laser treatment .