lynn Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I noticed today that ds15 jaw pops when he chews. He says it'd been happening a while, it does not hurt or ache and has become stuck for a moment when he yawns. He has said nothing to me about this until I heard it at lunch. Who do I start with. He was at the dentist a few months ago and had a full set of trays and nothing was said then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Mine does that ever since I had my wisdom teeth removed. It doesn't bother me, so I haven't done anything. But there are supposedly exercises one can do to alleviate symptoms. Maybe Google them and try them first, before you go see a doctor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Not necessarily abnormal. I'd just wait and ask dentist about it on next visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 It's likely TMJ. I would start with your regular dentist. They don't always take action. I have it but it doesn't really bother me. They won't do anything for me unless it progresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 dentist - sounds like TMJ. incidently, 1ds was treated for TMJ by our chiro (for half what the dentist wanted.) he'd been popping his jaw for two years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Mine has been doing that since I was a teenager. My dentist has asked about it on occasion and she says since it doesn't hurt or bug me that she's not worried about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) We started with a GP and got a referral to a 'jaw specialist' who on this case was a dentist - the GP said it's a bit of a grey area who deals with this. (Actually we started with a physio, but this only made a very short term different). This guy was clearly riding the wave of success with his overseas specialisations and all the rest, but his confidence was contagious. Basically the problem was that the disc that sits between the jaw joint had slipped out of place. This is quite common (15% I think he said) but often doesn't bother people. The solution was jaw exercises (stretching) which should be done 6 times a day (dd probably reliably did it 4 times a day) and a bite splint for the lower teeth which released pressure on the joint while she slept. He was sceptical about those who suggest any worth to a surgical approach - he aimed to give the joint time to heal and essentially form a pseudo disc. It took about 6 months to resolve the issue, and for the most part it is fine now. She'll always be susceptible to problems though. (He said she clenches her teeth in an extreme way, and basically said if he couldn't see she / we were fine there'd be concerns of some major issue - he was circumspect with her there, but I think he meant drug use or mental health issues. In fact I also have a lot of teeth clenching issues, although they're more headache and tooth damage than jaw related.) ETA: This was important: we were told to fix a few bad habits - NO nail biting and NO leaning the jaw/chin on a hand while at a desk. They are both very damaging to the jaw. Edited December 22, 2015 by nd293 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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