TMJ Remedies

Hi there,

Thank you for your incredible website. It is just the best. I have tried to support it every way I can, buying books etc. Could you send me a link to Ted's TMJ remedy? I can't find it. Thank you so much. Simon

My GF had a severe attack of TMJ after returning home from a dinner date. She said it started while she was eating. First, we applied a heating pad to the side of her face. Did not do much for the pain.

So, next we tried applying Dr. Christopher's SenSei Menthol Ointment (if you are not familiar with this product, imagine vick's salve, tigerbalm and icy hot combined times 100! ) to the side of her jaw, neck and around her ear.

I then made up an oil compress of thieve's oil to be placed inside her mouth (placed between her back tooth gum line of her jaw and cheek). As close to the temporomandibular joint area as possible. The compress will release its oils over the hour so it will absorb into the jaw area.

Then I had her lay down for the night. She woke-up as if nothing had ever happened.

How to make this essential oil compress:

• 6 drops thieves oil – mine has cinnamon, not cassia (I guess you could add more drops if you want it stronger)
• 30 drops olive oil
• ½ of a small cottonball

Mix oils in a small bowl with your finger then soak it up with the cottonball.

Note: I am trying this on myself tonite for fluid in my inner ear that won't go away. If it works, I'll post results.

TMJ: I used the kinetic exercises on this youtube link and a heating pad at night to stop my relentless pain. In addition, since I can't afford acupuncture, I massaged the areas an acupuncturist, in another youtube video, targeted to treat TMJ. The pain was so bad I thought I had infected teeth; wasting money and time on two emergency dental visits even though the dentist couldn't find anything wrong with my teeth. He finally suggested the pain might be from TMJ since I had some symptoms. I felt the heating pad and the kinetic exercises were the main focus of my home remedy and gave me a faster than expected reduction in pain, continued practice over a week or so stopped the pain altogether. I did the exercises whenever I thought about it, even while driving and doing other tasks, such as washing dishes. Most of the exercises are hands free: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O8ArvMOzqQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O8ArvMOzqQ

I tried turmeric for my trigger finger and it hasn't helped yet, but the pain in my jaw (which was like TMJ but caused by a sprained inner ear muscle) which had hurt and restricted my jaw motion for two years, feels absolutely great finally. I swear by it even though it has yet to heal my thumb.

My jaw seized up rather suddenly and was getting worse by the day. The tension in the jaw joint was becoming severe -- uncomfortable and painful, and I could not open my mouth without a miserable jarring pop. Because my godmother has been through a years-long full mouth reconstruction, I asked her what I could do. She told me that a tibetan singing bowl helped her a lot. I didn't have access to one, but a couple days later it occured to me to just hum. So I did, for about ten minutes on my drive home, and then I went to bed. The next morning my jaw was most of the way better -- I barely noticed the pop of the dislocation, once I had warmed up the joint. While humming that first time, while the tension was severe, my eardrum buzzed/rattled like a broken speaker! The next day there was no more buzzing when I hummed. I still need to accomplish a complete cure, as I my jaw is still dislocated since the onset of this bout of tension; however, that will probably require a wisdom tooth extraction. Now it clunks when I open my mouth, but does not cause me any discomfort.

When I was in college years ago, I took a class on the Linklater Voice method, which was recommended for actors and public speakers. I remember being told that one of the exercises we used to warm up at the beginning of class was excellent at reducing or eliminating TMJ. This particular warm-up exercise consisted of grabbing a good hold on your chin between your thumb and pointing finger and vibrating it (shaking it very quickly with tiny movements) while making an "AHHHHH" sound. Then you'd continue with the vibration and make a very deep sighing noise going up and down the scale (picture a sound wave curve). You might want to do this in a sound proof room because people may wonder what the heck you are up to -- very silly sounds!

I have used the technique successfully over the years to treat my TMJ when it popped up. I spend 5-10 minuts making sounds and vibrating my jaw. I also move my jaw from side to side while making that AHhhh sound.

Magnesium is a potent stress reducer, so you might consider taking that too.

P.S. I haven't checked, but maybe there are some videos on YouTube on the Linklater voice method to give you an idea.
P.P.S Babies sometimes make a very similar sound to the vibration I described above!

A yoga practice cured me of TMJ disorder. I used to get shooting pains up my cheek and really bad headaches. I started with Zanax but since I knew that was a highly addictive drug, I researched natural alternatives and discovered Kava Kava. It worked just as well without the worry of addiction. I was also fitted with a mouth piece to prevent me from clenching hard at night.

I then start yoga practice and I think releasing the stored tension in my body was key. (the fish, the cobra, the scorpion, the bow, the wheel, and the camel were beneficial, stretching the entire front of the body, plus I would jut out my chin in doing some of these to increase the stretch in the neck/jaw area. Mind you, to be healthy, you need to do opposite stretches to keep the body in balance, like the standing forward bend, the shoulder stand, the child's pose, seated forward bend, etc.) After practicing for a few months, I noticed that I no longer clenched at night or during the day and the headaches were gone. Of course, stress was a trigger too, I was married to an emotional abuser and control freak plus suffered from chronic sinusitis every other week for years.

It's interesting that Ted talks of an alkaline ph in reference to chelating heavy metals linked to TMJ. I also have adrenal fatigue and thyroid resistance, both of which call for minerals (magnesium, etc.) to heal from. Additionally, I have a mouth full of metal fillings and have suspected mercury toxicity as a contributor to the CFIDS, Fibromyalgia, etc that I am challenged with as well. I would have the taste of a metal spoon in my mouth constantly when I had the TMJ really bad.

Blessings,
Robin