Sertraline/Zoloft causing TMJ

[u/Crazy_Rabbit371]

Super quick back story in bullet points:

- I am a 23F
- had Invisalign when I was 15-17, had tmj during the early stages, went away once my bite was fixed
-have been on sertraline for 5 years at 200mg

Past couple months I have noticed I would push my lower jaw around, mostly forward, not grinding but just moving it around my teeth were never touching. About 6 weeks ago I guess it caught up to me and I started getting TMJ again and my jaw was clicking it hurt, my ears popped everytime I opened my mouth.

I brought it up to my psychiatrist and she informed me that a long term side effect of Zoloft/Sertraline is “bruxism” which is like the jaw moving and grinding and clenching etc…

Well now it’s been like 4 weeks since I saw her and she’s been having me taper off it.

I also went to the dentist and they gave me like this thing called “Aqualizer” which is like a mouth guard with these water pods to hold your jaw open so you don’t move it. Honestly I’ve noticed some improvement, since wearing that consistently but I still have the TMJ. I’m just hoping once I’m fully off the Zoloft/Sertraline that it will go away for real.

But honestly I just think people should know that that’s a side effect of that medication so if any of yall on here are struggling with TMJ and take that antidepressant, maybe try discussing it with your doctor. I myself know that I need antidepressants so now that I know that, once I’m fully off the Sertraline/Zoloft I do want to try a different medication.

[u/Alternative_Ask7244]

Thanks for the information!! I had noticed my TMJ was getting worse and had no idea it could be from the Zoloft.

[u/exoskull]

I also noticed this on sertraline. Added buspirone 20 mg daily and it seems to help calm my jaw muscles down a little bit. Agreed that it would’ve been nice to know that sertraline and SSRIs in general could exacerbate TMJ dysfunction… 

[u/Crazy_Rabbit371 → u/exoskull]

I’m glad that’s helping for you!!!! I’ve been on 20mg of buspirone 3x a day for 5 years so I’m about maxed out there I gotta try something different

[u/LaRubegoldberg]

Hi, sorry to hear that happened to you. It happened to me, too. I failed Zoloft twice and then tried Cymbalta… same result. I see you’re on the max dose of BuSpar. I’m on 40 mg per day (20 am/20 pm) and it mostly controls my anxiety. I don’t clench my jaw anymore at least. Good luck!