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Jaw Clicking/Popping??

  • Thread starter Thread starter rocketman32
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rocketman32

Junior member
Joined
Feb 26, 2018
Messages
12
Hi,

Not sure if this could be directly related to dentistry/teeth but I hope someone will offer some help.

I've been having jaw clicking/popping for the past 2-3 years. Whenever I chew food on the right side of my mouth, the left side of my face will click/move out of place. It is rarely painful, but can get extremely annoying because it happens constantly. Simply opening and closing my mouth makes me feel my jaw move slightly out of place, and I have to close it to re-position it.

What exactly could this be/what could have caused it? I've never seriously injured my face, it's just something that's been happening for quite a while now, and has been getting gradually louder/worse.
 
Hi Rocketman,
Yes, this is really annoying isn't it? It is a very common problem. What is going on, is that the cartilage in your jaw joint is being displaced as your jaw moves. The sound you are hearing is it clicking in and out of position. In addition to the noise, some people get pain in the joint or in the muscles that open and close the jaw, or find that they cannot open their jaw as much as usual.
Firstly, try and rest the joint by eating as soft diet, avoid chewing gum and crusty bread and the like. In particular, avoid biting your nails and the like with the tips of your front teeth as this really stretches the tissues that hold the cartilage in position.
Another thing to avoid is yawning, suppress the last bit of the yawn where again, the joint is stretched. Believe me, this totally ruins the yawn but such is life.
It is worth seeing your dentist who may be able to prescribe some physiotherapy exercises that can help strengthen the joint and stabilise the clicky cartilage. He, or she may also be able to construct a small device called a nightguard which clips onto your teeth and helps ease the problem. Failing that a specialist referral is sometimes required.
The good news is that your condition is not serious, may go away and has a really impressive name.... Temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome. :eek: There has got to be someone you can impress with that.
Hope this helps

Lincoln
 
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