Laurence Stein DDS
Medical Moderator
Hi Doomz06,
In your post you indicate that your wife has TMJ Syndrome but that she "locked up" during her ocean dive. Simplistically, TMJ is a musculo-skeletal problem in which the muscles that operate the jaws and position the disc within the joint between the joint fossa and the mandibular condyle begin to function "out of sync" and then go on to spasm.
While TMJ may well limit opening due to joint inflammation or muscle spasms, a sudden "lock up" makes me suspect something called an "open lock" if the jaw can't be closed or a "closed lock" if the jaw can't be opened.
Both of these locks can be a result of TMJ muscle spasms but they may also occur as a result of dislocating the mandible out of position within the jaw joint and later, be a cause of TMJ. The little disc within the joint acts kind of like a rubber door stop... either preventing opening or closing... depending on where it has slipped out of position.
She needs to be actively treated for her TMJ/dislocation and then care must be taken not to strain the joint... gum chewing, big sandwiches, scuba, etc.
Assuming that the TMJ can be stabilized, she might want to consider a custom regulator mouthpiece like SeaCure. I have used one for years and it seems to reduce the strain of holding the regulator in my mouth for hours.
SeaCure is heated in hot water and then you bite on it (hopefully in the proper jaw position... you dentist may be able to show you how). There are different SeaCure mouthpieces depending on the diameter of the second stage orifice. Ask at you dive shop.
Unfortunately, there are some people who cannot get enough relief of TMJ symptoms to comfortable hold the mouthpiece for the entire dive.
You wife also was experiencing a stressful dive because of her buoyancy issues. This stress may have made her more susceptible to muscle spasms. Perhaps as she becomes more comfortable this will cease to be an issue.
In your post you indicate that your wife has TMJ Syndrome but that she "locked up" during her ocean dive. Simplistically, TMJ is a musculo-skeletal problem in which the muscles that operate the jaws and position the disc within the joint between the joint fossa and the mandibular condyle begin to function "out of sync" and then go on to spasm.
While TMJ may well limit opening due to joint inflammation or muscle spasms, a sudden "lock up" makes me suspect something called an "open lock" if the jaw can't be closed or a "closed lock" if the jaw can't be opened.
Both of these locks can be a result of TMJ muscle spasms but they may also occur as a result of dislocating the mandible out of position within the jaw joint and later, be a cause of TMJ. The little disc within the joint acts kind of like a rubber door stop... either preventing opening or closing... depending on where it has slipped out of position.
She needs to be actively treated for her TMJ/dislocation and then care must be taken not to strain the joint... gum chewing, big sandwiches, scuba, etc.
Assuming that the TMJ can be stabilized, she might want to consider a custom regulator mouthpiece like SeaCure. I have used one for years and it seems to reduce the strain of holding the regulator in my mouth for hours.
SeaCure is heated in hot water and then you bite on it (hopefully in the proper jaw position... you dentist may be able to show you how). There are different SeaCure mouthpieces depending on the diameter of the second stage orifice. Ask at you dive shop.
Unfortunately, there are some people who cannot get enough relief of TMJ symptoms to comfortable hold the mouthpiece for the entire dive.
You wife also was experiencing a stressful dive because of her buoyancy issues. This stress may have made her more susceptible to muscle spasms. Perhaps as she becomes more comfortable this will cease to be an issue.
