Not sure on going the TMJ Specialist or Orthodontist route (or other?)
30M. no noticeable bite issues before this, which makes it all so much more frustrating.
I will also preface this with when this happened last year, i was probably the most stressed I’d ever been in my life. My grandpa passed, my job was the worst it’s ever been, my dog was ill. I would not doubt that stress had a part to play as well
My issue began just over a year ago. I had a cavity in my back most lower molar filled (without any numbing) by my dentist. I felt a sharp pain that remained dull for a bit after. When checking the bite after, it felt okay and I went home. Over the weekend, that filling ended up feeling way too high. I went back early the next week and dentist adjusted the tooth and then other teeth felt like they were hitting wrong and he adjusted those. My bite went from molars to pre molars. I thought it would take some getting used to. The next day, my jaw felt like it was floating with no clue what its position should be. When I talked, my front teeth started hitting and my bite became only hitting my front teeth and having posterior open bite. My dentist blamed it on me grinding and wearing a cheap mouthguard (which I didn’t know was an issue). He felt my TM joints and determined that was the issue, caused by the grinding with the mouthguard. My joint has always popped for the last 10 years or so but never really bothered me much. He made me a night splint, which held my jaw farther forward. Since then, I feel like my jaw is stuck farther forward and my front teeth remain the only contact points.
I feel like the bite splint was made at a bad time when my jaw was shifting all over the place, so now maybe it holds my jaw in an incorrect position. It has started to become very sore on one side of my jaw over the last few months. I told him all of this and he recommended Botox, which helped the soreness for a week or two. I would love to stop wearing the bite splint, but then I grind my front teeth when I sleep. After doing more research, I realized that this is beyond what he should be doing and asked for referrals. He first referred me to an in-network TMJ specialist. They thought my case was out of their depth and completely muscle related then referred me to an out of network TMJ specialist who focuses on the muscles and uses TENS. That seemed like it was going to be a good yet expensive solution but then he told me about phase 1 and 2 treatment, and I felt like he was trying to sell me on phase 2 way too early.
I also saw an orthodontist, and he felt that he could adjust my bite with Invisalign and elastics and that aligning my bite would help settle those muscles.
If I force it and stretch hard over a good 1/2 hour, I can get my back teeth touching, but it goes back to the way it’s been not long after.
TLDR; I am wondering if someone has had something similar and can share their experience. I have my front teeth hitting and a posterior open bite due to it. My jaw / bite shifted after a filling and adjustments, a bite splint feels like it forced my jaw to remain forward and stiff, bite splint led to facial pain, and I don’t know what to do. The posterior open bite makes it hard to chew and has drastically affected my quality of life. TMJ vs orthodontist feels like they treat completely different things and I don’t know where to go at this point. I am worried the wrong decision will make things worse