Invisalign and TMJ

I am on tray 6 of Invisalign and am having problems with pain in my jaw and headaches. Do other people have this problem? I am wondering if I am having TMJ.

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TMJ risk side effects

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6 Doctor Answers | Asked by cst in Oregon City, Oregon

Doctor Answers (6)
Community Comments (6)

Be careful proceding with your Invisalign if your TMJ symptoms continue...

In general, your body does not like change. Although our bodies, especially our temporalmandibular joints, are quite adaptable, dyfunction and symptoms in these joints is common. The cause of symptoms, however, is extremely multifactorial. Tooth movement can exacerbate an underlying problem and bring about your TMJ symptoms. With all of your patients, regardless of treatment, we warn them that if they start developing TMJ symptoms, that treatment may need to be put on hold, and that they... more

Not usually the case

Your reaction to Invisalign is not common but this can happen. Generally speaking TMJ symptoms improve with those using Invisalign, but not always. Depending on where the pain is coming from would help determine the cause. There are a number of things happening that could cause the symptoms. Most often when your symptoms occur, and it is only with a few, wearing the Aligners triggers clenching. This is the opposite with most patients. Only testing various scenarios can you come up... more

Orthodontics including Invisalign and Braces can precipitate TMJ problems.

TMJ Dysfunction can result from tooth movements if the TMJ's are not in a healthy functioning position to begin with. This is what you are describing . Otherwise the slight movement into tray 6 would not be enough to cause the problem. Your dentist/orthodontist may not have picked this up in the evaluation. Disucss your situation with them to come up with a solution. Invisalign, or braces for that matter should not be used to treat TMJ Dysfunction... more

Invisalign and TMJ

Align Technology (makers of Invisalign) recommends NOT treating any patient using Invisalign who has symptoms of TMJ. Changing the way a patient bites can indeed increase symptoms of TMJ Dysfunction. I would be VERY careful allowing any dentist or orthodontist to move your teeth if they can NOT adequately explain the relationship of TMJ to a person's bite. Symptoms of TMJ Dysfunction can include: headaches (including migraines), neck aches, back aches, ear pain, ringing or... more

Invisalign and TMJ

There are many causes for TMJ and Orthodontics or Invisalign are not the cause. A person is predisposed due to genetic factors, habits, bite problems,etc. Most of these predispositions become true problems when stress occurs. You may want to seek care from a local Dentist that has advanced training in TMJ issues if your symptoms do not improve as headache and jaw pain are key indicators of TMJ dysfunction. The Invisalign may alleviate the symptoms over time as well.

Invisalign does not cause TMJ

There is no correlation between the TMJ dysfunction and Orthodontics in general. Invisalign is just another way to move teeth. There is no incidence of TMJ dysfunction in relation to Invisalign

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Comments (6)

sallyinmaryland 8 Mar 2013

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sallyinmaryland 5 Mar 2013

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mhatchxx 18 Feb 2013

Really ? Why did I develop TMJ a month after starting Invisalign treatment ?

amandab5 16 Feb 2013

I have to agree with this too and it sounds like someone should look into a class action against Invisalign, but in my case I believe my daughter's orthodontist was negligent. My daughter is 15 and is petite for her age and always has been. At age 7 she started with a palate expander due to have two rows of front teeth and extreme crowding and eventually braces on her top teeth only when the expander was taken out with the understanding that because of how small her mouth was she would need a second set of braces at some point in her teenage years. At age 9 years 11 months my daughter was diagnosed with a neurolgogical condition called Chiari Malformation Type II (not related to the ortho whatsoever, but my reason for mentioning this will make sense shortly) and one week after turning 10 she underwent brain surgery. She will require annual MRI's for the rest of her life to monitor the flow of her CSF and to make sure that her brain is staying in place. In the meantime we were seeing her orthodontist on a periodic basis of every 6 months so he could keep an eye on her and let us know when it was time for her to get her second set of braces on. He knew of her diagnosis of Chiari, as did everyone in his office, and the fact she would require annual MRI's. However, when the time came when she finally had in her 12 year molars, age 13, and was ready to proceed, he said she would be fine with the metal bracket type orthodonture and wrote up her bill for $7,200 and braces were put back on. Approximately 3 months later she had an appointment with her neurolgoist and was complaining that her headaches seemed to be getting worse even though she was still taking all of her meds as directed. Her doctors did a physical exam and when she had her open and shut her mouth while she held her fingers at my daughter's temples, she said "did you feel that popping?" My daughter replied "yes, i've been noticing that in the last week or so." Her neurologist inquired about her getting her braces on and told us that she thinks the braces may be causing her to have TMJ. I contacted her orthodontist who had her come in and he did his own examination of my daughter and questioned us about who was telling us she had TMJ and why, and he ultimately told us that our neurolgoist didn't know what she was talking about and that my daughter did not have TMJ. Moving ahead to last year, my daughter is now 14, and is having a lot of health issues so she ends up requiring more than just her annual MRI. Our orthodontist tells us that he can't keep putting her braces off and on and is going to start charging us $600 each time he has to do this. I reminded him that he knew she has Chiari and would need annual MRI's, but he acted like he didn't remember. He then proceeded to tell me that this was going to ruin her teeth and that she needs to have Invisalign so we don't continue to run into this problem. This was going to cost me an additional $3,500. He never did any x-rays, didn't bring up the fact that we had the discussion about her possible TMJ, nothing. He just said she needs to have them so, being the parent I am, I paid the money and we went ahead with them. Now with 8 trays left to go, my daughter's jaw pops when she eats and is extremely loud. It is very painful for her and causes her daily headaches. It got to the point where she couldn't eat and so I called and made an emergency appointment with her orthodontist. The second he asked her to open her mouth...POP! He looked stunned, but didn't say anything, just had one of his girls come over and asked her to take x-rays. Guess what that arrogant ortho had the nerve to tell us was wrong? I quote: "You have a bone disorder in your jaw and there is nothing you can do about it. You are going to have to live with it and when it gets bad just take Mortrin." "Your Invisaligns are going to make it worse, but just finish them out and I will make you a bite splint when you are done." HE REFUSED TO TELL HER SHE HAD TMJ!!! The nerve... I paid this guy $11,000 to give my daughter TMJ and he refuses to admit it. Well we did not finish them out as it was too much for my daughter. I had her quit wearing them to where her jaw and teeth had moved into a comfortable position and then took her in to have the tabs removed from her teeth, her teeth cleaned and the bite splint and retainers made. This whole thing was the biggest waste of money ever spent.

phicks 10 Aug 2012

I also agree. I am 49 and had only upper trays on for first 4, I just started with 5th tray now on upper and lower and have increasingly tight jaw mucles and TMJ symptoms since starting 4 days ago. I only have 9 trays total so want to try to finish. I am considering injecting BOTOX into masseter muscle to relax the TMJ to get through the treatment. Other option I am considering is only wearing the trays at night.

Luckynana 26 Jul 2012

I totally agree with this...I am on set 14 and have always had discomfort and stiffer muscles from the beginning of invisaligns. I am 40 and decided to fix my teeth later in life, at set 13, my neck went out, so much in fact that it affected my shoulder and ran down my arm. I sat and suffered with so much pain for two weeks that I took them out for two days to relax my jaw. Not only that I massaged my jaw muscles and it felt like I had gotten punched, which was not the case. Also, I enlisted help of a massage therapist to work on y specific needs and my neck muscles and traps were so out of whack that I actually cried during session. I am sill wearing them because I am half way, however, I wish that the possibility of this problem would have been addressed beforehand. My neck base, the top is the most affected, needs to be rubbed on a regular basis due to my jaw muscles aching or I cant turn my head. Hope this helped and your not alone!