My jaw clicks and locks i cant eat solid foods and it hurts
Q. My jaw isnt straight and it clicks and locks most days- for the past few months i havent been able to eat solids without my jaw hurting so i\’d rather not eat. my old dentist said i\’d need my jaw broken and realigned, but my new dentist wont do anything. i\’m in constant pain and i dont know what to do. is there anything you can suggest? please!
A. Dear S, thank you for your question. You definitely need to be looked by someone that specialises in treating jaw problems. From your symptoms it sound like you have a displaced disc in your jaw joint. When your jaw clicks the disc in your joint hits against the boney part and this creates the noise. If your jaw is displaced to one side then it means that the disc in your joint is displaced and the muscle attached to the disc may be getting pressure from the boney part of the joint. It can be treated but without seeing you it is very difficult to recommend the best treatment. Don’t ever listen to anyone that says your jaw needs to be broken and reset. This will cause more problems, put you through a lot of trauma and will not work. In fact I don’t think that this treatment has ever been advoctaed for a displaced disc. I would need to go through all of symptoms with you and their onset and test and feel your jaw. In some instances splint therapy is the best way to go but in others in can be even more damaging which is why a case like this needs to be carefully looked and planned. A lot of dentists only have a basic knowledge of jaw problems and don’t deal with them on a regular basis.
If you live in Buckinghamshire or near my practice I would be happy to see you for a consultation. If you are in London then Dr Justin Glaister is the best person to go and see. He is also an expert on this site, or you could call the general dental council to find a list of restorative specialists in your area. If you take this option then be sure to ask whether they have experience with jaw problems.
In the mean time you should start taking 600mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day if you are not allergic or don’t have stomach ulcers. It is an anti inflammatory and will help relax the jaw muscles and the muscles that are attached to the disc.
When you sleep, make sure that only your forhead is resting on your pilllow and not your whole face this will prevent any unnecessary displacement of your lower jaw and I know this sounds silly and obvious but try not to open your jaw too wide. Also when you do try to eat make sure you take small mouthfulls and eat evenly on both sides. These suggestions are only to prevent aggrevation of your joint. They are not treatment methods. You do need to find some one other than the 2 dentists you’ve already seen.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards
Dr Komal Suri
Smile Design Dental 33 High Street, Wendover, Buckinghamshire HP22 6DU Web: www.smiledesigndental.co.uk Tel: 01932 223 479
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Dr Suri
Tags: jaw click, jaw pain
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 4:05 pmand is filed under Dr Suri's Answers, Experts Answers, Q. Orthodontics.
hi
My jaw clicks and locks i cant eat solid foods and it hurts
Q. my jaw isnt straight and it clicks and locks most days- for the past few months i havent been able to eat solids without my jaw hurting so i\’d rather not eat. my old dentist said i\’d need my jaw broken and realigned, but my new dentist wont do anything. i\’m in constant pain and i dont know what to do. is there anything you can suggest? please!
i am living in melbourne, Australia; Please advice me any doctor.
thanks
Abhishek Chopra
dam doc, your fine as hell!!
my jaw on right side, clickesamost all the time
when i eat its worse. its starting to get sore
plus i have no teeth on bottom, what should i do
debra stallman
Hi, I have a problem with my jaw both sides of my mouth. My jawbone locks out of place if I for example bite on an apple. It pains some what trying toget it back in place, feels like it will break. Also my bottom teeth sitsway back in my mouth like as if my jaw is out of place. I would really loveyour help on this matter
hi there, I have an overbite where my bottom teeth can reach the roof of mymouth, i am currently with an nhs dentist who say theres nothing they cando for me. i would love to have teeth that sit normally as my jaw looks asif it to far back on my face. could you tell me if you think theres anything that could be done to help and how much you think it would cost. thank you.
I have an underbite and it has always bothered and clicked if I moved it from side to side but the clicking has gotten alot worse so I am a bit worried about this I have den-plan insurance does this cover this treatment and is there anything you can do to help?
Hi, Not been to a dentist for a few years, siffering from jaw pain when chewing, need a check up, (probably with x-ray) diagnosis etc. Do you do thiskind of work amd what doyou charge? best regards
Hi i got elbowed in my jaw today and when i open my mouth it clicks is that normal or not ?
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