Ok I don't have TMJ, but I have a question about my jaw and I thought people here might be able to answer. My jaw clicks on one side when I yawn. It's been doing this for a few years. When I say clicks, I think it kind of pops out (and then I guess pops back in again).

Is this going to do any damage to my face? It only does it on one side of my face, does this mean my face is going to go lopsided or something? Sorry if that sounds stupid but this is really annoying me. What is happening to my jaw when it does this? Thanks.

Do you have any other symptoms, like neck pain, pain in your arms? I really have no idea, I'm just reading peoples experiences and what treatment has been successful for them. But, obviously, what is going on with you doesn't sound right. Have you done a search on TMJ and all of it's many symptoms?

Clicking or popping is a symptom of TMJ. When this first happened to me (on one side) I just ignored it but over time it got worse and worse meaning my bones were eventually rubbing together and I began to have headaches, ringing, dizziness,etc. No need to worry. if you do have TMJ then its probably in the early stages I'd just have it checked out the earlier the better :wave:
Your joint is obviously out of place when it clicks this can be due to a variety of factors such as: teeth grinding, injury, being double-jointed, etc.,

How often does your jaw click?
:rolleyes:

Only whenever I yawn

I would get it checked out if I were you. When I was 15 I first heard popping and clicking in my jaw, but I didn't think much of it. My orthodontist didn't even seem concerned--he just said as long as it doesn't hurt then it shouldn't be a problem.
But it got progressively worse to the point that I have 2 displaced discs, a very small opening, and severe pain and I'm only 21!

I strongly recommend that you have your dentist and at least one other specialist examine your jaw. Maybe the clicking will never progress to full blown debilitating TMD, but you should at least have someone monitor your jaw, and if anything changes or gets worse see your dentist as soon as possible!!

Lisa

Lisa is right.

My TMJ occured when I was 14 and it was only whenever I yawned. Now, like i said previously, the clicking and grinding in my joints occur when I eat, talk, or brush my teeth. I get flare ups (painful muscle spasms) whenever I go to school, exercise, eat, etc. There are jaw exercises you can do to strengthen the muscles in your jaw so that the clicking lessens. I would also see a specialist along with doing the jaw exercises. :)

:rolleyes:

Hey Lisa,
What do you do for your pain? I am also 21 and I have a hard time trying to avoiding flare-ups whenever I go to school. It seems my jaw hurts more than ever during that time, not to mention while working. :wave:

-Mary

Hi Mary,

My dentist prescribed an arthritis anti-inflammatory medication called dolobid (aka diflunisal) for me. It works for 12 hours, and I take one in the morning and one at night. She said that it was okay to take it continuously, which is what I have been doing for months now. I find that if I only take it when I have to talk a lot or just when my jaw hurts, it isn't very effective. I tried taking vioxx and naproxen but I found that those were useless.

The meds are hopefully short term b/c I have a new splint from a new TMJ dentist. I am using this new splint which has helped with the pain, and I am still taking the pills. I have never heard of anyone else on this board taking this same medication. It sounds like many ppl here take strong meds like vicodin, which I think can be addictive. The good thing about the one I take is that it isn't addictive. Hope this helps! Lisa

Hey Lisa,
I just recently got a new splint too. I read in another post that you have a lower and a upper splint. Well, I was told be my specialist that I would need rubber bands to fit around both my upper and lower splints keeping them together because my jaw keeps slipping back, especially when I lay down. I was just wondering if you do the same thing? :)

Thanks for the advice on the previous post. my TMD doctor wanted to put me on vicodin! I said no, of course.

-Mary

Hi Mary,

No I don't have elastics with my splint. It is designed so that my lower jaw won't slip back. It's kind of hard to explain, but the top splint has plastic coming down under my top molars, and the bottom splint is built up at the sides so that the plastic parts come together and prevent my jaw from going back. Acutally, elastics sounds better than the system I have b/c all this plastic makes the splint somewhat bulky.

I was told that I might need elastics after splint therapy is done to try and bring my teeth into alignment as the bottom teeth are lower on one side compared to the other. But I think this will be done w/ some sort of braces/orthodontic work and not a splint.
...Lisa