Periodontal Ligament Widening??

[ibs76]

I have been to my dentist like 2 times in the last 3 months because of this constant pain I have been feeling on my left jaw that radiates up to my ear.  At first I did have an ear infection and was prescribed amoxicillin but ever since then I still have this radiating pain that is off and on.  My dr and ENT said it has to be tooth related because there is no infection present.  So the first time I went to my dentist he took a quick glance, felt my jaw literally pop when I opened and shut it and immediately asked if I clench my teeth.  Which I do horribly so he immediately suspected TMJ and gave me some muscle relaxers to try to calm down the problem.  So a month later now I am still having off and on pain that radiates to my bottom teeth and makes them ache along with my ear.  I went back today basically asking for an xray to make sure it's NOT tooth/nerve related.  He took an xray of teeth # 17,18,19,20 and just a piece of 21.  He came back in the room and he said that 4 of those teeth(#17,19,20 and what he could see of 21) are showing suspicious areas.  He did the "cold" test and everyone of them checked out fine and had me do some bite tests checking for cracks ect and I had no pain there.  So he said he really believes it to be a TMJ issue and did do some filing down on some of my bottom teeth in areas.  He said sometimes we see the periodontal ligament widening on teeth that are abcessed or the nerve is dying but my teeth "checked" out ok and there was no sign of anything else on the xray other than the widening.(nothing on the bone below it, no abcess ect)  Do you think it's ok for me to relax a bit and think it really is a TMJ/clenching teeth issue or do I have 4 teeth that are headed for a root canal?  Tooth #17 has a sealant, #18 has a silver filling, #19 has a composite and #20 and #21 have no fillings/no cavities.  

[scottma]

dear ibs76:
      Periodontal ligament widening is a sign of trauma from occlusion. It 's generally not related to infection. It advised to see a tmj specialist .

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

I think you need to see a dentist that specializes in TMJ dysfunction. The popping of the jaw will not be remedied by adjusting the bite.TMJ is a complicated issue  and needs to be treated.