Lately, while chewing food, I experience a rather loud popping sound from my jaw where it hinges on the right side (at times people can hear this). It happens with each clench of the jaw muscles and seems to be on random days but is getting more and more frequent.
Any ideas what the hell is going on in there? Or how I might alleviate the problem.
Thanks.
Sounds like your jaw is popping. My mother’s jaw pops every time she chews (from a softball, if my memory serves), and she is not having any trouble.
I don’t know of anything that might fix it, but it should not cause too much of a problem. On the other hand IANAD, so your jaw could fall off in a few days for all I know.
TMJ
Temporomadibular joint dysfunction.
You can find lots of info on it, and dentists sell gadgets that are supposed to help, but in my experience, it comes and goes, and usually gets better on its own. YMMV
BTW, see if any of your chewing habits might be causing it.
:smack:
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction.
I’ve got the same thing–drives my folks nuts. Dad keeps haranguing me to have surgery, but, if Earl is right, and I hope he is, I feel justified in taking a pass on it.
Jaw pops can be a symptom of TemporoMandibular Joint problems. I’m not a doctor of medicine. I suggest you go see one, to find out if that’s what you have. There are varying degrees of TMJ troubles; some can be eased with physical therapy or by a dentist’s adjustment of the way your teeth fit together. At the other end of the scale, some patients require implant surgery. We’re not talking The Jaws of Life, here. The surgery replaces worn-out cartilage inside the joint.
I had pops and pain, and I had therapy to retrain my face to chew differently. It works fine, as long as I remember not to slouch or let my head slide forward.
Are you chipping away the cartilage with each pop? Ask your doc.
My mother had this problem. Orthodontist fitted her with a retainer,which she used for about a year. It solved the pain and “popping”.
I also would suggest a doctors visit.
If someone diagnoses you with TMJ, please don’t get surgery. I’ve done alot of research on TMJ patients and no one has ever been better after surgery - only worse 
Thanks for the advice. It’s definitely something I can live with, just a little annoying to not know why it is happening.
I really can’t imagine having surgery for it unless it was causing problems.
Guess I’ll just wait and see, for now…
I don’t know if this is the same thing, but just today, I had this moment where it felt like my jaw joints got ground together. It felt uncomfortable and afterwards, when I tried to move around my jaw, (maybe it’s psychological, but) I thought I could feel my jawbone’s “grains” (little particles) moving around.
Is this bad?
My jaw has popped for about about 18 years now, and two dentists have never mentioned anything about it going away on its own. They’ve told me that if it isn’t bothering me too much, then don’t sweat it.
To the OP, ask your dentist about it on your next regular visit. Go from there.
Yep.
Thus the disclaimers “in my experience” and “YMMV.”
Have a nice day!
Even the TMJ folks emphasize the point: