Dentists...can you help me please! Question about my jaw...?

I went to my dentist about the extreme pain my jaw is causing me and he said I have TMJ. He went through all the information about it and said we would try a retainer I wear at night and if that didn't work I would have to get braces for a second time. He estimated the braces to cost about $4200. I am 18 and a senior in highschool. My family is going through a very rough time financially and it's going to get a lot harder when I go off to college. I just got a speeding ticket and thats going to probably be about $300-400 which I have to pay, which will prevent me from being able to help with the braces thing. (I don't have a job.) The problem: The retainer is making my jaw worse. IT has probably doubled the pain and it now feels extremely tight. I am not going to tell the dentist though, because then he would say I need the braces. What I want to know is by saying that it's feeling better when in fact it's not, can I cause serious and long-lasting damage? Thank you.

Dentists...can you help me please! Question about my jaw...?
http://www.ctds.info/tmj.html





has some alternative solutions
Reply:long term likely will damage the joint. If you believe the retainer is making things worse, stop using it for a while and see if it gets better. Jaw pain can also be caused by grinding the teeth at night, there are many types of mouth guards to wear at night to prevent this. Also poor occulusion will also cause jaw pain perhaps that is where the braces come in. Anyway slow down save the ticket money for more productive things like taking care of your mouth.
Reply:I had TMJ and saw several different dentists. They did not all agree on the treatment. The third dentist that I saw was able to solve my problem and I feel great. I would consider getting a second opinion. Also, try to find a dentist that specializes in TMJ issues as opposed to a general dentist. That is who I ended up seeing and they were able to solve my problem. (without braces)
Reply:Go to a chiropractor and have your jaw adjusted....it really works...about a 39 dollar visit

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