Hi everybody
I was just wondering if anybody has experienced this, has your ES caused tmj problems? The reason why im asking is i feel like my teeth are lifting if that makes sence like they won’t stay together or rest together like rest top teeth on bottom teeth, that my 1 strange question 
and i have another one if its found that i have ES ( got a scan this monday 13th) just on the one side what happens? But if they find that its both sides can you live without your calcified elongated styloids and still have stability in your neck? Sorry if those question come over a bit silly but i feel i can ask the questions on here and not be judged 
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Definitely feel free to ask any questions!
There seems to be a link between ES & TMJD, in that many members have symptoms of both…whether the pain and inflammation from ES cause muscle tension & that affects the jaw alignment, or whether the clenching of the jaw with TMJD inflames the neck area & causes calcification of the ligaments we don’t know, although I think the second reason was suggested to a member by their doctor, I think I read that once…And some members who have bite guards before surgery have found that their jaw is in a different alignment afterwards so their bite guards don’t fit.
My alignment isn’t great, my teeth don’t rest together at all unless I really push my lower jaw forward, I do get some muscle pain in the jaw area but don’t have TMJD.
ES can be unilateral or bilateral, some people only get symptoms one side though. Although the unsymptomatic side can flare up after surgery. The majority of us don’t notice any difference with stability when the styloids are removed & the ligaments either detached or removed too, so you can certainly live without them. There have been a few discussions about instability; some members who already have CCI have found that their instability is a bit worse afterwards, but others have found no difference. So if you don’t have CCI, should shouldn’t see any difference if you have surgery!
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Thank you joules for answering my question its a bit clearer in my head now, i think im just a bit scared when it comes down to it as I’m 52 with no previous illness or broken bones and never had surgry in my life so to get this is a big shock and scary to the system but thank you for always being here and answering my questions 
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Any surgery is daunting, I was really worried that I’d come round from surgery and not be able to swallow or something, but it was all fine! You’ve done well to avoid having any surgery until now! 
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Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I completely understand your feelings. i am 56 and never had any type of surgery & then was diagnosed with bilateral ES. It is a bit daunting to realize that you are going to have a major surgery, but if you find an experienced surgeon it does help take some of that anxiety away. I was trying to do what I could to avoid surgery, but unfortunately nothing non-surgical fixed my issues. You are in the right place though to find out info. This forum was a huge help to me and helped reduce some of the anxiety since I could learn from the experiences of others. Also, just to let you know, I’ve only had surgery on one side at the moment but haven’t noticed a difference in stability. In fact, I have been able to go sledding the past several days (I am more careful though now). It is a shock to be diagnosed with something that you’ve never really heard about before. Also, prior to finding out about my ES, I would clench my teeth at night (had a night guard also) and sometimes would wake up with severe ear/jaw pain that would go away after a little while. I have also read that clenching the jaw can cause problems with the ligaments. It seems like TMJD and ES can have similar symptoms & can probably affect each other. I was never diagnosed with TMJD however, years ago i remember reading about it & thinking that I had some of the symptoms.
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Hi vap
Thanks you for your reply 
iv just been for my ct scan wirh contrast this morning and have a follow up appointment next monday, its quite comforting in a way to hear all these success story on here, it gives me strength to carry on because this has been going on for a year and i know thats short compared to some people on here but its really tough going but feel im one step closer to a diagnosis hopefully iv got a good ENT that knows wether hes looking, Iv got 2 herniated discs in my neck then the last time i went to A&E they did a xray and told me i had tmj but always felt that there was another issue because surely tmj and herniated discs don’t cause that much nerve pain i was in, the pain was just another level like nothing iv experienced before (worse than child birth) and thats saying something!!! I’ll check back in soon big hugs 
to everyone thats suffering with this it truly takes away a bit of your life 
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