Nasty TMJ. We hates it. I got it from my mom, who got braces when I was about 8 to try to fix it (didn't work). I haven't gotten to the Very!Bad!Pain, but I tend to hold tension there, now, and get headaches from it. Also pops like crazy.

But medical jaw-breakage is a little extreme for my taste.

it's so funny that you guys are talking about this. i just decided last week that i'm going to get braces to rectify my teeth/jaw problems. i have chronic headaches and i believe that most if not all are caused by that particular area. one of the nurses expressed concern that surgery(like the breaking of the jaw) would be necessary, but the orthodontist assured me it wouldn't be. so...in three weeks i will be joining the ranks of the brace faces. i can hardly contain my joy. at least they're the ceramic kind.

tiggy- I'm jealous of your braces gettage. I have wanted braces for several years now. My family was in the poor house when I came upon the age to get braces, and my parents decided that since my sister's teeth went right back to being crooked after her braces came off(umm, maybe because she refused to keep wearing her retainer?), the same thing would happen to me so it wasn't worth the expense. One day...

Sometimes TMJ issues stem from tight facial muscles pulling the jaw out of whack. Perhaps you might think about getting some therapeutic massage work done before breaking jaws?

d makes a good point. Any point that suggests massage over paying someone to purposefully break your jaw sounds good, because I am a wimp. Maybe a second opinion, Allyson? Was this dentist a regular dentist, or an orthodontist, or oral surgeon, or what have you? There might be other ways to correct your bite. That face is a classic. I'd hesitate to mess with it, too.

I wore a bite plate for TMJ for a few years. After the third time I accidentally threw it out, I gave up on it, but it seemed to be working when I did wear it.

I got braces a second time as an adult (after braces from grades 5-10). My teeth went kablooey when my wisdom teeth came in and after I'd long quit wearing my retainer. My ex started poking fun at my crooked front teeth and I made myself miserable over it, and eventually got braces again. They had to pull 4 teeth, which they didn't want to do when I was a kid cuz, narrow face already. My face definitely looked fuller before the teeth pulling. (I'm verging on collie territory, I fear.) If I had it to do over again, I'm not sure I'd do it. I started grinding my teeth at night so they made my retainer out of the same material as a night guard. It helps prevent headaches in the AM.

Okay, I confess I'm British (Yes, we of the bad teeth fame). Could somebody please explain what TMJ is. And why it's so bad anyone would want to break their jaw to fix it (I'm confused, as I'm rather partial to my jaw... and all my other bones come to think about it. So, unless it was life threatening, I'd be rather reluctant to have any breakages).

All I've managed to come up with so far is Too Much Jaw (or Jaws), but even I don't believe that can possibly be correct.

Temporo-Mandibular Joint. Where your lower jaw is hinged to your skull.