Did a routine dental procedure trigger your TMJ displacement and nerve pain? Looking for others who’ve lived this.
My wife has been through something I’ve never seen adequately documented, and I’m hoping someone in this community recognizes her story.
The trigger: A routine dental procedure. Jaw held open too long, by a dental bite block, in an abnormal position. What followed wasn’t just soreness — it was a cascade that took years to get diagnosed and treated.
What happened:
• TMJ disc displacement
• Adhesions and synovitis
• Burning pain across her face, mouth, and tongue that never went away
• Eventually diagnosed with PTTNP — Post-Traumatic Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain
Provider after provider. Years of being dismissed, misdiagnosed, and told it would resolve on its own. It didn’t.
On April 2, 2026 she finally had bilateral TMJ arthroscopy performed by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at a major U.S. University. Three weeks post-op and we are cautiously, carefully hopeful for the first time in a long time.
I’m documenting her entire journey and writing a book about it.
But before anything else — I want to find the others.
If a dental procedure kicked off your TMJ spiral, your facial burning, your nerve pain, or led you to a PTTNP or trigeminal neuropathy diagnosis — I want to hear from you.
You are not crazy. You are not alone. Drop your story below or DM me.