My jaw cracks every time I open my mouth?!

My jaw cracks every time I open my mouth?

My jaw used to crack every once in a while for the past few years, but for the past few months it seems to have gotten worse. Every single time I open my mouth, the left side of my jaw cracks very loudly. People near me can hear it cracking when I eat! Now it is starting to get painful and sometimes it takes real effort to get my mouth open past the cracking point. What could be causing this and is there anything I can do to make it stop?

sounds like it could be the onset of TMJ or temporomandibular joint disorder. You should see your dentist or primary care physician right away. For more information, refer to the next section:

Sometimes there is a kind of click, and sometimes there is a crunching or grinding sound. What's happening?
Probably lots of things. Joint noises during jaw movements are a sign that the functional elements are not working smoothly. Crunching grinding noises are called Crepitus, and it is associated with hard tissue contact during movement. In order to explain Clicking, you have to first know that the Articular Disk has, what is most simply described as, a depression, in the middle of it. That depression, and the Condyle Head are supposed to move together in sync. When they don't, and the Condyle Head passes over the outside ridge of the depression, you get a Click.

Is the presence of these Joint sounds serious?
Again, in the absence of other symptoms, no. BUT these Joint sounds are a sign that the Joint is not functioning smoothly, and each sound's occurrence is a micro trauma to the Joint tissues. This means that as time goes on, a full blown TM Joint disorder may develop. The correct approach, if you have TM Joint sounds during jaw movements in the absence of all other symptoms, is to tell your regular family Dentist about them, and he will keep your condition under observation.