How successful are surgeries to fix TMJ?

varies from very successful to not at all. Please make sure you are going to a proper oral surgeon, a maxillo facial surgeon, whom has experience in these surgeries. These are very, very difficult to diagnose. The younger your are, the better your chances for a solution. Also, please make sure that any inner trochlear troubles have been ruled out. Good luck! I have the same problem, and am living with it.

I’ve only heard good things about that surgery. Please do let us know what your experience is like (if you get the surgery), as I am hoping to have it done once I get insurance.

Well according to the doc I don’t need surgery.

In my case, the cartilage is loose and is causing the trouble with opening my mouth to its furthest extent as well as the popping sound. It isn’t causing any pain either so the doctor said don’t worry about it, chances are that (from most likely to least likely): a) it’ll remain a minor nuisance throughout my life, b) the cartilage will completely fall out of place from the joint and I’ll never have the TMD issue again (unless the other side of my jaw develops the issue) or c) it’ll eventually cause discomfort and surgery will then be necessary to most likely just remove the cartilage (which he says has the highest rate of success out of all the TMD surgeries at fixing TMD).

I have TMJ and the cartilage is nearly gone from one side of my jaw. When I was researching the various treatments for TMJ and talking to surgeons the general consensus was that surgery was a very last resort and not all that helpful (and possibly harmful).

I ended up getting braces to re-align my teeth when my jaw fell slightly out of place.

I’m super careful with my jaw.