I distinctly recall, when I was around 17 years old, that I went to sleep one night and woke up the next morning with the most sensational pain in my jaw joints. I found it very difficult to open my mouth at all, and realized that full extension was only about half of what I seemed to remember from the previous day. If I tried to open my mouth further, the pain was excruciating. A couple of weeks went by, and I kept working my jaw during that time, trying to “loosen” it up a bit. It was very much like working out the worst crick in your neck you could ever imagine, only it was in my jaw.
Eventually, I worked really hard and forced my jaw to go ahead and work open to the full extension that I had previously. Unfortunately, in doing so, there was an enormous POP as my jaw bone rolled past some heretofore unrecognized obstruction. The pain was incredible, but I did, at last, have my jaw fully opened again. It was nearly as painful closing it. Over the last 17 years, the pain has gone away, as one would expect, but the popping sensation is still there. If I fully extend my jaw, it has to “pop” past a certain point. It’s not really painful, but it is a tad uncomfortable to do it.
What I want to know is, is this normal? I’ve asked my dentist about it, but he doesn’t have anything to say on the subject. Did I really sleep in a position that caused this condition, or perhaps was there a change in the makeup of the bones of my face that I didn’t really notice until I slept crooked that night? Does anyone ELSE experience anything like this? If it’s not normal, has anyone else heard of it, and WHAT CAUSED IT?
TMJ. Temporomandibular join dysfunction, most likely. Happens to lots of us, but often gets better on its own. You can find tons of stuff on the Net about it, and I believe the subject has come up here before, too.
Disorders of the Temporomandibular Joint.
Happens to me too. Maybe we should start a club.
I’m going to follow that link next, but I’m most curious about why it seemed to show up essentially overnight…
I have TMJ too. Most often it is caused by grinding your teeth or clenching your teeth in your sleep. You probably popped the cartilage in the joint out of place while doing so. I did it once too. Sucked. Mine is worse when I am stressed. The good news, if I fall asleep with gum in my mouth, it doesn’t fall out and end up in my hair. No mouth breathing for me!
Hmm…for the record, after following the link, I seem to have RADD: Reducing Anterior Disk Displacement.
Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but I don’t think it warrants the splint treatment they mention to fix it.