Jaw Surgery Journey with Sammi

Pain Problems Today I am going to share with you about the pain I have endured and what types of treatments I have used. Hoping that others that may ever experience TMJ issues can find some relief with reading this. When I first began having severe pain all I wanted was surgery. I couldn't eat anything remotely solid or chewy. My doctor in Arizona prescribed methyl-predisone packs almost once a month in order to reduce the inflammation in my jaw that was causing me extreme pain. After I would finish that pack (6 ish days later), my inflammation would have decreased enough to maybe eat solid food. But, the pain would just come back all over again a few weeks later and we would be playing the same game. The circle below is where the pain I have is located. I have arthritis in both sides of my jaw now due to the TMJ. We tried using a compounding pharmacy for a cream with pain killers/muscle relaxants in it to rub on my cheeks, but that was just expensive and didn...

BRACES Let's talk about having braces as an adult and what it means for me on this journey. Being 31 with braces is fun With all jokes aside, having braces stinks. It was not fun in middle school and it is not fun now. The only differences are that this time I know better than not to floss (which is also a huge pain in the ass), and this means I am one step closer to having my surgery. Braces for me is the next BIG step to having surgery. I have gone through 4 meetings with my orthodontist, Dr. Rathburn, and 2 meetings with my surgeon Dr. Glenn Maron. I got my braces on January 9, 2020, and after a week I am already having jaw pain due to my teeth beginning to shift. The only reason I was allowed to get braces and allowed to have surgery is because my joints have stabilized with my 24-hour bite guard that I wear.* With that being said, I am fearful of the pain that may come due to the changes with my braces. Only time will tell. For those of you following along fo...

MRI Reports and Results: I have two sets of MRIs for my jaw. These probably will not be helpful for anyone unless you are a medical doctor who knows what it means. Regardless, I am going to post the two MRIs so those who are interested can see how my bones have changed overtime with the bite guard. Until I am able to get the copy of the first MRI on my laptop, this most recent one will have to do. August 2019 MRI: This is the recommendation from Dr. Glenn Maron after he read the August 2019 MRI and his thoughts about my jaw.

3. Mandibular Retrognathisum Here is my profile where you can see on the left how my lower jaw is pushed back. I took this photo of a photo at my orthodontists' office. I am pretty sure that the right side view is the "hypothetical" look after surgery. But don't quote me on that. 

 2. Open Bite: Just One of the Many Issues You see in this photo that the top and bottom front teeth do not touch. This has been my life for probably ever, but has only become a larger problem over the past 4-5 years. The issue is that the space between the top and bottom front teeth keeps getting wider. Can you imagine trying to eat a sandwich? You literally cannot bite off the piece of pickle, lettuce, or tomato because your front teeth do not touch. This is an actual photo of my teeth (2.12.20). I literally cannot close my mouth any further than what is shown in the photo.  Side note: my mouth looks so messed up in the photo. Cheers to being vulnerable and sharing this close up with the world!

Three Main Issues with my Jaw 1. I have TMJ ( Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction), which I will go into more detail about later in the blog.  2.  An open bite, and My teeth do not touch in the front like the photo below. 3.   Mandibular Retrognathisum ( a  lower jaw that is pushed back towards the skull) This shows what my lower jaw looks like at a side angle. Obviously this isn't a photo of me, but you get the idea.  

Hello Out There! THIS IS ME! Sam, Sammi, Samantha Beskin.  This lovely photo of myself allows everyone to see my bite splint on my lower teeth that I wear 15-ish hours a day, except when sleeping I get to wear a different bite guard.  You may be saying to yourself, why is this woman sharing her attractive mouth piece with you? Well, I am going to take you on my 4+ year journey of wearing this bite splint and how I am now closely approaching jaw surgery.  This blog is for anyone who wants to know about my jaw issues as well as for those who may be suffering with similar issues and wants to know they are not alone. :)  Jaw Surgery Scheduled: Tuesday, July 7, 2020. This was taken the day I got my biteguard!

1. TMJ Background Story on Jaw Issues Let's go back to October-ish 2013. This is when I first started having issues with clenching my teeth at night causing me to have jaw pain in the morning. This is when I got my first nighttime bite guard. At this point, I thought everything was fine and dandy because most people I knew in their mid-20s to late 60s have a nighttime bite guard for clenching or grinding. No problemo. WRONG Fast forward to December 2014. I had just moved to Scottsdale, AZ and was about to begin a new job at Arizona State University and thats when everything started getting awful with my jaw. Over the course of 5-6 months I had seen 4-5 different TMJ specialists, surgeons, dentists, and more that talked to me about sleep apnea, displaced discs, orthodontia, clenching, cavities, etc. Long story short, it took a while to find a TMJ specialist that was able to help. During that time, I had an MRI taken, which is when I found out that my discs were di...