EddScott

My GF has had a problem with her jaw for at least 2 years. It started with aching but now every time she eats shes in pain and you can hear it clicking - and its not just a little click its very loud.

Anyway, we've been to the GP who referred her to the hospital to see a doctor there. On the first visit I wasn't with her and the doctor said it was just one of those things and she should take Ibruprofen and wait for it to settle down.

Now its just got worse so I arranged another visit and made sure I was present. On this occasion the doctor said it was down to her biting her nails and chewing her hair. I pointed out that she was 25 not 12 and that she did neither of those things and she also doesn't grind her teeth at night. He went on to say that theres nothing he can do and although they are a few operations, they don't work and in his words "Have kept to lawyers in the US busy for years"

Pretty obvious the old boy really wasn't listening to either of us and we don't know where to go from here. We want a 2nd opinion because its getting worse every day (today she can't actually close her jaw properly)

If we go to another doctor who repeats the first and says theres nothing they can do then fine but we really aren't happy with the first doctors verdict. From the first doctors verdict shes basically got to live with it for the rest. Thats fine but its got so much worse over the last 12 months shes in danger of not being able to move it at all.

I can't believe nothing can be done. I'm very concerned that if nothing is done she will end up in constant pain and not be able to move her jaw at all.

We are also considering going private but will have to borrow the money in order to do it if it proves costly.

TIA

fitzscoob

It might be worth going private for a consultation just to see if you can get more of an insight into the problem rather than the seemingly bored impatient doctors you have seen so far.

It will probably cost a couple of hundred pounds to see someone private, but atleast once you know what the real problem is you can make an informed decision on how you go forward from there.

kend

You have 3 options -
1. Ask your GP to refer to a different consultant for a 2nd opinion, this can be a problem if there is only 1 appropriate specialist at your local hospital, but your GP can refer you further afield

2. Go privately - expect to spend a couple of hundred pounds for the 1st appointment, and there may be costs attached to tests to go with it - such as an x-ray of the temperomandibular joint (where the jaw attaches to the face) - this will be the quickest the option.

3. Ask to be referred privately, but only for the opinion, your GP can make it clear that you can only pay for the 1st appointment, and not any subsequent tests - the consultant will usually see your GF, give an opiniopn, and then put her on the NHS waiting list for any tests needed

David Lock

Ask your dentist about it and get him to refer you to a decent oral surgeon.

EddScott

Think private is going to be our best option. There had been talk at work about our company offering a goup medical policy but nothing ever came of it.

Might see if I can get it jump-started.

jen98impreza

Firstly,i am sorry to hear of your partners pain. Second,do not pay to go private!! You are entitled to a second opinion by law,if needs be,go to an A&E dept at a different hospital and tell them you are not leaving until something is done. As i work in a hospital,unfortunately i know what can go on,and these lazy barstools are fobbing you off cos they can`t be arsed. Get tough,research some of the ops available on the net,go in there knowing what your on about and what you want from them. Speak your mind,abrubtness(sp) is the only language some of these docs understand!! Good luck!

silent running

AFAIK it's your right to have a second opinion from a different consultant. Ring up NHS Direct and see what they say. Private is always an option, but it's not an option that will disappear if you get a second NHS opinion. And remember that a lot of the time you get exactly the same thing with private as you would with NHS, the doctors are the same ones. The only difference if you have to fork out for it.

jen98impreza

Too true

EddScott

Had a quick look on the net and there appears to be a couple of things it might well be.

Either a problem with a disc that moves around within the joint or a particular term which is TMJD or tempromandibular joint disorder.

Not that I know anything but I think hers might be the disc problem because my dad had a clicking jaw and it sounds all but the same and his was a disc problem.

Now, not once in 2 visits has the doctor said anything about either of these things.

We are going to get an appointment with the dentist first because he actually seems to give a damn when we go. After that its back to our GP and ask for another opinion. If we have to go furthe afield we will.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

BTW Edd, regarding your work health insurance comment, most will only cover claims on a condition that started after the policy start date, your GFs jaw problem is now already date recorded on your doctors notes.

David Lock

Your dentist is much better placed to advise than your GP. Dentist should be able to refer you to a specialist in this field which is an oral surgeon and not a GP. And should be able to advise on waiting times and give you the private option to cut the wait. Going privately will not necessarily give you any better medical advice but it's the bloody waiting on the NHS which is the drag. But ask first. dl

KiwiGTI

If you are near London (maybe outside too) you could try one of the walk-in Medicentres that they have. The fee is only around £50 and I have found their service to be very good. Many doctors working there are from SA or Aus and IMO are less jaded than the average British GP. A few can do xrays on site too.

Medicentre - walk-in medical centres and doctors in London

Leslie

I would ask the doctor to tell you exactly what the reason is for the problem. If he says he can't tell you, then request a specialist appointment so that the problem can be diagnosed properly and hopefully something can be done about it. It seems that one often has to be a bit insistent in many cases these days!

Les

shamrock

I've got exactly the same problem. It started with a very slight click a few years ago that turned into a loud cracking noise when eating. My jaw would sometimes lock when yawning.

GP referred me to a facial specialist at the local hospital. They did say there isn't a great deal that can be done and explained that it was something to do with a disc or muscle in my jaw becoming worn, possibly due to grinding my teeth at night. Apparently there are treatments for severe cases such as surgery or flushing the joint.

They made a splint for me that I wear at night. It's a thin transparent piece of plastic that fits over my bottom teeth. I would wear it before I went to sleep and had been wearing it for 3 months. The problem had nearly cleared but then my splint became too uncomfortable to wear so am getting a new one in a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure what to suggest as I didn't seem to have a problem with getting treatment. All I can suggest is requesting that your GP send you to a different specialist. You shouldn't need to go private. I had mentioned the problem to my dentist before seeing my GP and although they could explain the problem they couldn't treat it as they said I needed to go through my GP for treatment.

Best of luck.

PeteBrant

The lengths some women will go to to avoid giving head.

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

See post 11 by David Lock

I'm an NHS Consultant dealing (partly) with jaw problems like these and my referrals come from local dentists.

The problem is likely "TMD" as mentioned and the click is due to the displacement of the disk of cartilage within the joint. There are a variety of splints and physio available to treat the problem.

Ask your GF to push her botom jaw forward then open and close and the click will probably dissapear

Just ask your GF's dentist for an appropriate referral.

Cheers


Shaun

EddScott

Brillant

Thanks all. Really needed some help here.

stilover

I've suffered from this for many years. It got really bad a year or so ago. I couldn't eat, yawn, kiss etc without it constantly clicking. A turn off to any potential partner.
It was so bad that at times I could hardly open my mouth to eat, as the jaw would not open enough.
I'd been to the Dentist and got advise. He said that unless I was in pain with it, live with it, otherwise an operation would be required.
Not liking Hospitals much I decided to leave it, for now. This was before it got really bad however.

Last October, I had to have a tooth removed, and being one of my lower Molars, it took some getting out. Much riving of the Jaw, drilling the tooth in half, more riving, to the point that I thought he'd broken my Jaw it hurt that much. I had to hold my Jaw while he pulled the tooth out.
Once I'd recovered after falling into shock and being taken home in an Ambulance, very embarrassing made worse by the Paramedic being an old schoolfriend, my Jaw stopped clicking.

For a couple months I couldn't close my mouth as it hurt so much. Again to the point that I really thought my Jaw was Broken, but after those couple months I can open my Jaw without it clicking. Hurray. I still can't open my mouth wide open, and eating tough food hurts when chomping down, on my right side. However, I'd happily take this over a clicking Jaw.

I really worry that the clicking will come back, but fingers crossed it won't.

So Eddscott. My advise to you is ...................... punch your lass in the Jaw, it might just work.

If it's anyway near as bad as mine was, she'll even thank you for it.

jen98impreza

Deep Singh

I hope it works out for you Edd. Midlife is the expert and has pointed you in the right direction

Jen,

If you work in a hospital then you should know better than to advice people to clog up A and E where people with serious life threatening illnesses need to be treated quickly.You'd be the first one jumping up and down shouting your big gob off if your relative was having a heart attack and the Dr was busy seeing someone with jaw ache.

Get over your white coat complex.

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

STi Lover

You have a disk displacement at a guess...... clicking is caused by the disk clicking in and out of position within the joint itself.

Sometimes the disk clicks out of position and doesn't go back again so the clicking stops but the joint doesn't work too well !! After about 18 months the joint seems to get itself sorted and works again but the disk stays out of position.

you have about a 4% chance of it going wrong again and a 96% chance that it will continue to function OK with an odd bout of stiffness

HTH

Shaun