My jaw pops when I open it, and it's beginning to hurt. Why?!


Question: My jaw pops when I open it, and it's beginning to hurt. Why?
The title is self explanitory. For the past few days whenever I've opened my mouth wide enough on the left side where my jaw is, it makes this kind of popping noise and it's been really bugging me lately. Since I've been toying with it so much it's beginning to get really sore and when I close my mouth tightly or move my mouth it really hurts. Can anyone tell me what this is, and what I can do about it?

Answers:

It sounds like you have TMJ. It's really common...I have it. It's usually caused by grinding your teeth at night when sleeping. Of course, you're asleep, so you don't realize you're doing it. Do you notice it's worse in the morning when you wake up?
Check your jaw now. Are you clenching unconsciously? I do. Does it feeI tight? Try to relax it. Feel better? I check myself and sure enough, I'm clenching without realizing it.
Anyhow, you need to see a dentist for a diagnosis for sure. He can make you a custom made mouth guard, which prevents you from grinding your teeth at night. Then try to be aware of your jaw when you are awake. BTW, insurance does not usually cover the cost of mouth guards, and they cost quite a bit. You can get cheap ones that are one size fits all at the drug store, but they are really uncomfortable and not really helpful. If you continue grinding, your wear down your teeth, eventually get chronic headaches, etc. It's not fun.
Hope this helps.



well this sounds really bad and painful.... if you have braces you should ask your dentist about that.... and if u dont, the best thing to do is tell your doctor. Im sure your doctor will handle that.




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