braces and TMJ

[atav]

Hi All

 

I have read a few posts on this but would love some more information if anyone can share.

 

My daughter has tourettes but very mild, she has been diagnosed with PANDAS however I have also noticed tics have escalated at times of stress or change when there is no strep infection, so I am not sure if PANDAS is always the reason for her tics but if she has a strep infection there is definitely a major increase in tics.

 

Anyway a few weeks ago she had spacers put in prior to braces and that same night she was agitated and wanted to yell, she was talking very loud and in lots of pain, I now realise this was a tic starting.

Over the week she had her spacers in she was in lots of pain withdrawn and on lots of pain meds and constantly had her fingers in her mouth due to the uncomfortable sensation. She said she just wants to rip them out.

 

The next week she had the spacers taken off her braces put on and was in a lot of pain again and used a lot of the dental wax due to the rubbing on her mouth. Again she was loud and agitated and wanted to yell, her anxiety was high and I noticed a few tics starting , neck flinging, grunting, throat clearing etc. It must be noted her tics really never go away she always has something but they are mild.

 

Two weeks after the braces she now has major tics , violent head flinging, a constant vocal tic like a ah ah ah sound, she cant sleep due to her tics, on Christmas eve for example she was awake crying and agitated with the tics till 4am. lots more to tell but my question is:

 

Has anyone experienced this sort of thing after braces. The braces cost a lot of money and I am thinking of getting them taken out but I really want to be sure, I dont care about the money if it helps her but I want to be sure before I do get them out. Has anyone seen TMJ come on because of braces being put on ? or is TMJ already there and the braces cause it to flare up.

 

Her neurologist wants to put her on steroids but I have read these can make the tics worse. Because she couldnt sleep we were giving her phenergan that helped a bit but was still taking her hours to get to sleep. One night I tried vallergan (more of a sedative) and it was the worst night ever, the vallergan seemed to make the tics 100 times worse, it was distressing and so sad to watch, she finally fell asleep at 4am through exhaustion.

 

I am at a loss what to do, should I put her on the steroids, should I wait and see if things settle (it has been 4 weeks now since the braces) or should I get the braces taken out and see her kinesiologist to start on supplements. She is already on B6, B9 and enzyme chews.

 

Or is there something the ortho can do to help with TMJ and how is it diagnosed she has it. Her ortho has never heard of tics related to braces before but I can try and educate him if I have information to give him.

 

So many questions as I am so confused as to what to do but I need to do something to help her. Any advice, sharing of experiences would so so much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chemar]

Hi and welcome.

 

There are a number of posts here on braces (and indeed dental work per se, as was the case with my son) aggravating tics for various reasons, including metal sensitivity and also TMJ issues.

 

There are some people with tics that seem TMJ related, and who have been helped by specialized mouthpieces

 

It's not an area I know enough about to comment much, but hopefully if you do some searches here you'll find the other info, and perhaps others with more knowledge can assist you