Jaw Problems

[ereeves116]

So I've been having problems with my jaw popping non stop. It only pops on the left side when I close my mouth. If i don't open my jaw too wide, it won't pop when I shift it a bit to the left. Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning i can't fully close my jaw and it can take up to an hour or so of moving my jaw around to finally get it to go back into place (after nasty ripping and popping sounds). I find that if I push the back of my jaw to the left I can close it better, but it still doesn't sound right.

I tried to see my dentist but my step-dad just got a new job and so I have to wait until my dental insurance forms go through. The only ideas I have are maybe that I grind my teeth (I don't know if I do or not because I'm asleep haha) at night and its messing up my TMJ on the left, or it's just TMJ problems in general?

Any similar experiences or ideas?

[Doc]

I've seen quite of bit of these types of cases at the office. Dentists are great at filling cavities, cleaning teeth, doing root canals, caps, crowns, straightening teeth, but not so good when it comes to TMJ. I see alot that the dentists can't help.

You most likely have a muscle imbalance in your jaw and possible a fixation or adhesion in one side of your TMJ area, not allowing it to function properly. I suggest you find a Physical Therapist or Chiropractor that deals with TMJ problems and see one of them.

[ereeves116]

thanks very much! i never realised how nice it would be to have a resident doctor