Lock Jaw?

KristynRuth
KristynRuth Member Posts: 21
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I have no idea if this is related to radiation or anything, but I thought I'd ask you geniuses on here! Lately I get lock jaw! Like a lot, it's usually while I'm brushing my teeth, but more and more it just happens for no reason. I guess you'd call it lock jaw. I can't really open it and it starts feeling kind of numb, painfully numb. I don't like it! I kind of just made an assumption that it had to be from the radiation! Anyone else going, or went through this? Love you all and hope everyone is doing well!!

Comments

  • waywest
    waywest Member Posts: 44
    #2
    Lockjaw
    Hi Kristyn,
    My husband was experiencing the exact same thing 3 months post treatment. It is a side effect of the radiation. The doctor advised jaw exercises and they seem to be working.
    Open your mouth as wide as you can 20 times in a row. Do this several times a day. If it worsens see your doctor, there are other methods to alleviate this symptom (one of them being surgery-yuck).
    Let me know if this works for you.

    Patti
  • timreichhart
    timreichhart Member Posts: 194
    #3
    waywest said:

    Lockjaw
    Hi Kristyn,
    My husband was experiencing the exact same thing 3 months post treatment. It is a side effect of the radiation. The doctor advised jaw exercises and they seem to be working.
    Open your mouth as wide as you can 20 times in a row. Do this several times a day. If it worsens see your doctor, there are other methods to alleviate this symptom (one of them being surgery-yuck).
    Let me know if this works for you.

    Patti

    lockjaw
    Kristyn,
    I thought I had lockjaw also but I went to my dentist and told him about my cancer treatments and after he was looking at it he said I TMJD. So I went to a local orthodontics doctor and I had a meeting with him and he told me I had severe TMJD so what he did was he ordered a splint to wear for a year. So I have to wear my splint for a year for couple hours a day.

    As my orthodontics doctor told me the fluid in your jaw joints get fried during radiation treatments and he told me there is no way getting that fluid back in the jaw joint at all.
  • KristynRuth
    KristynRuth Member Posts: 21
    #4
    timreichhart said:

    lockjaw
    Kristyn,
    I thought I had lockjaw also but I went to my dentist and told him about my cancer treatments and after he was looking at it he said I TMJD. So I went to a local orthodontics doctor and I had a meeting with him and he told me I had severe TMJD so what he did was he ordered a splint to wear for a year. So I have to wear my splint for a year for couple hours a day.

    As my orthodontics doctor told me the fluid in your jaw joints get fried during radiation treatments and he told me there is no way getting that fluid back in the jaw joint at all.

    Good info!
    Thank both of you for that insight! Patti I will start doing those exercises! And Tim I will ask my Dentist about that! Thanks so much!
  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    #5
    JAW ISSUES
    Hi Krystin, good to hear from you. other than the jaw issue, I hope you are mending well. This could be the onset of TMJ.

    Do you have a Therabite tool? if not, and if I still have mine, I would be happy to send it to you as they are quite expensive and not all insurance carriers will pay for it. You may also try some Ultrasound on the area to see if you can loosen it up. When I et done working out at the gym, I sit in a dry sauna for 20-30 min. and do all of my head, neck and jaw stretching, and the heat really seems to help with flexibility.

    Anyway, nice to see you posted and hope all is well with you and your family.

    Best!!

    Mike
  • waywest
    waywest Member Posts: 44
    #6
    luv4lacrosse said:

    JAW ISSUES
    Hi Krystin, good to hear from you. other than the jaw issue, I hope you are mending well. This could be the onset of TMJ.

    Do you have a Therabite tool? if not, and if I still have mine, I would be happy to send it to you as they are quite expensive and not all insurance carriers will pay for it. You may also try some Ultrasound on the area to see if you can loosen it up. When I et done working out at the gym, I sit in a dry sauna for 20-30 min. and do all of my head, neck and jaw stretching, and the heat really seems to help with flexibility.

    Anyway, nice to see you posted and hope all is well with you and your family.

    Best!!

    Mike

    Lockjaw-TMJ
    Yes, I think they like to call it TMJ but really it is a side effect of the radiation that causes TMJ in people that previously never had it. I have learned more from reading these boards than all the months I spent talking to Oncologists, Radiologists, Nurses, ENT's and a legion of internet searches. Onc. never warned us about symptons that could manifest even years after treatment. I found those on CSN.
    Below is what sent us back to Dr. for advice. They noted that Therabite would be an effective system.

    "For treatment of patients with cancer, radiation oncology is a common treatment to help fight and treat the cancerous region. One of the side effects of radiation therapy is a progressive stiffening of the tissues under radiation. The more radiation a tissue receives, the more likely the stiffening will occur; and patients with long treatment schedules or on a second round of radiation often see these effects. This stiffening is usually treated with stretching to the affected areas.

    For head and neck cancer patients, if radiation is applied to areas around the mouth and jaw, the stiffening of the facial tissues causes trismus. Trismus is the limited opening (or range-of-motion) of the mouth. Severe cases of trismus are often called "lockjaw." Unfortunately, the mouth does not easily lend itself to be stretched open, and the stiffening is significant. Additionally, patients are rarely warned of this side-effect to prevent it. Patients often only discover it after the stiffening has caused limitations in their ability to eat, drink, speak, etc.

    Exercises and stretching to prevent trismus is the best course when head-and-neck cancer patients are receiving radiation therapy. However, treatment for stiffening of the jaw or trismus includes heat, medication and stretching. Stretching the jaw is difficult and a number of aids have been developed to assist patients, like the OraStretch Press or the TheraBite systems. These devices are used by patients to press their mouth open and stretch the jaw and facial muscles, to overcome the stiffening caused by radiation."


    Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_lock-jaw_occur_36_weeks_after_radiation_therapy_begins#ixzz1SgCpQkwK

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