Here's a fun fact: the average person moves their jaw about 25000 times a day.

This is a fact I have been ACUTELY aware of since early August 2024. Following a dental appointment, I began experiencing severe pain on the left side of my jaw. I have been living with 8-10 pain levels for months. I can't open my mouth more than about an inch without wanting to scream. Eating means very deliberate choices about what will cause the least pain, and it requires an amount of patience to eat slowly to not hurt. Yawning makes me cry. Even talking means soreness.

I have been through PT and X-rays, and finally convinced my GP to do an MRI. The x-rays found nothing with my jaw, but did find an abscess sitting on my trigeminal nerve. I was desperately hoping that the root canal re treatment in January would help, but it did nothing. My GP finally agreed to an MRI and then sent me to a specialist.

The MRI says that the intra-articular disc is out of place. Basically one side of my jaw is partially dislocated and staying like that.

Here's a not-so-fun fact: there is not a single person with this specialty who accepts my insurance, or really any insurance at all.

That means that if I want help, if I want to be able to talk, eat, yawn, anything like that without pain, I have to pay out of pocket.

Getting an orthotic device to try to help realign my jaw will be 4700, not including any of the appointments to scan my teeth. I will know in about three months if this will be enough or if I'm looking at surgery.

Please help.