u/Dingo_Queen

I've been having TMJ issues on my right side for 15-20 years, and on the left for 8. The majority of my pain and discomfort is on the right side. It's being recommended that I have total joint replacement on the right side, and a disc plication on the left. The plication has an 80% success rate, and the other 20% goes on to need the TJR 6-8 years later. While I'm debating whether or just go TJR on both sides to avoid a second surgery, I really want to hear from people who did TMJ Total Joint Replacement and what their results are like.

Ideally I'd like to hear from people that got TJR 8 or more years ago. Are you benefitting from the surgery? Is it worth the debt? Would you have done things differently now that it's in the past?

40F here, and I've had TMJ DIsorder for probably 15+ years on my right side. Then when my friend was in dental hygiene school, she discovered the slightest popping in the left side about 7 years ago. Since then, the left side hasn't really bugged me, but the right side continues to get worse (pain, popping, lockjaw when using a guard).

I saw one oral surgeon maybe 2 years ago, but their only suggestion was Botox and muscle relaxers. They didn't order any scans or testing, and there was zero comments about any serious musculoskeletal issue.

About two months ago, I decided I was just...done. I hit a wall, and was done with the pain, popping, and headaches. My dentist has been really great, referring me to anyone I need. Started with an orthodontist whose main worry was that manipulating the teeth would make my issue worse. They referred me to an oral surgeon, and I specifically requested to not go to the previous one.

Saw the oral surgeon three weeks ago. He did a physical exam and a CT in his office. He was pretty confident that the issue is my discs are misplaced/misaligned, and he thought my best option was TMJ arthroplasty, where they suture the discs on both sides back where they belong. He sent me for an open/close MRI to confirm his findings.

Fast forward 3 weeks to today. I went to the surgeon again to go over my results and his recommendations. He's recommending the arthroplasty for the left side, but now says that a total joint replacement on the right is the best option. Apparently there's bone degradation bad enough that it warrants it.

I guess I want to hear from others that have gone through it. Y'all's worries, successes, failures (?), advice, how long you were done, etc. TIA

Edit: I got an MRI, but didn't list it, sorry! Second edit: grammar, spelling, timeline