Sometimes I purposely and almost obsessively pop my jaw over and over, what could be the cause of this?

Question

I am already certain that I have TMD(TMJ). My bite isn't perfect, i have (had) a missing tooth (permanent tooth didn't ever develop, there is now a bridge there), my jaw obviously pops and can get stuck if open too wide, and i get jaw and neck pain. I also have had a mild habit of grinding my teeth from time to time since i was young. I've read about TMD but there is nothing about making it pop on purpose or feeling like you need to keep popping it. I also noticed that when i do this, i also grind and clench my teeth. I think it very well could be a mental issue, possibly a habit i formed as a child, but I would like to know if anything may cause it or if anyone else has this problem. Any ideas or answer would be very useful and much appreciated. Thank you!

Answer 1

Continual popping in your jaw, getting stuck open or closed, muscle aches and headaches...These are all symptoms of TMD. You definitely should seek therapy. Is it mental you ask....could be stress can exacerbate tmd problems. This joint though is the toughest area for a dentist to treat. Dentists will give different answers because no treatment works all the time. The popping you are talking about is most likely coming from the disc between your jaw bone and the base of your skull. It aften gets trapped where it shouldn't and "pops" back in to place. The purpose of this disc is to act as a cushion between the bones but sometimes it doesn't funtion properly. Overuse (clenching, grinding, etc) can cause the joint to function improperly. Getting trapped open though is something different, this occurs when the jaw bone gets trapped on the wrong side of the eminence (DIfficult to describe without pictures). When you open, your lower jaw moves down and forward.....if your joint messes up....then the jaw ends up getting stuck in front of a bone protrusion at the base of your skull.
Treatment varies heavily. If you are a grinder, consider using nightguards. Hard or soft splints can be used (these are like mouthpieces and they keep you from grinding. Orthodontics can sometimes fix TMD if it is caused by a bad bite. Soft diets, no chewing gum or hard candies can also help. Muscle relaxants, steroid, and NSAID treatments can be used. These treatments are considered non aggressive. Aggressive therapy would be surgical removal of the disc, or the condyle, or both. Removing the eminence at the base of the skull has been used. Artificial joints have been tried. Obviously these are used in extreme cases. Having given you all these treatments...none work al that well. Like the knee joint, some people will just always have some discomfort.

Answer 2

I had this problem too. I talked to my dentist about it and they thought it was something called TMJ (can't remember at the moment what that stands for) but the dentist made me a special mouth guard from clear soft rubber that fits my teath like invisalighn braces. There are cheaper versions that don't fit the teath such as football mouthguards that would surve the same purpose. The reason for the mouth guard is because with TMJ the cause for jaw problems is the gringing of your teath when you sleep. For me the worst of my problems come when i run in a track meet race because when i'm breathing hard i tense up my jaw muscles. and i have had it be stuck so i can't open it more than 1'' wide by the time i reach the finish line. bottom line reduce your stress if you can and try to relax. if you think you may be grinding your teath try a mouth guard and/or talk to your dentist.

Answer 3

making your jaw pops purposely is something you are doing on your own as if in a habit. noone can tell you why you have chose to keep doing it. but do be aware every time you do it you are messing up your jaw bone scrapping them together. i have tmd and was suposed to have surgury about 10 years ago. my mouth would get stuck open and stay that way for a long time. once i learned no to open my mouth enough for it to lock and kept from doing it for a long time it seemed to heal itself. though i can still hear it grinding sometimes when i am eating or kissing someone. i would try not to pop it as long as you can to get out of the habit. hope this helps

Answer 4

I do a lot of that, too, but never enough to lock open. I pop my jaw all the time; I can also grind it from side to side, and it almost sounds like I'm chewing a carrot. I also grind my teeth and have since childhood.
But I never knew there was a name for it.

Answer 5

EMILY,
AT THIS POINT IN TIME AN IMPORTANT THOUGHT IS WHAT EFFECTIVE TREATMENT IS THERE TO ALLEVIATE THE GRINDING AND/OR POPPING? SOME THINK THAT JUST A NIGHT GUARD WOULD SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. IT WILL NOT. YOU'LL JUST GRIND THE MOUTH GUARD AND THE PROBLEM WON'T GO AWAY. WHAT YOU NEED IS AN N.T.I. APPLIANCE MADE BY YOUR DENTIST. THIS APPLIANCE IS VERY COMFORTABLE TO WEAR BUT IT WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR TEETH TO COME TOGETHER TO BITE TOGETHER. THIS IS WORN AT NIGHT WHILE SLEEPING, BUT MAY ALSO BE WORN DURING THE DAY -- AS LONG AS YOU'RE NOT EATING.
THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN THERE SINCE CHILDHOOD BECAUSE SINCE THEN AT NIGHT YOU HAVE HABITUALLY BEEN GRINDING AT NIGHT. THIS APPLIANCE WILL RETRAIN YOUR MUSCULATURE TO NOT GRIND AGAIN AND THIS HABIT WILL STOP.

Answer 6

Omg, i do the same thing, i also have tmj, i used to see a specialist for it, he gave me exersizes to help me chew, or just open my mouth in the right alignment, its kinda hard to do it the right way after doing it the wrong way for so long! but if you put your finger on the bottom of your chin not pressing or anything...just open and close your mouth, you can feel when your not doing it right, it helped me but ive slacked off from it lol but as far as clenching, and grinding and popping my jaw purposley...same thing again! i think the jaw popping is from habit... what i do for grinding and clenching (dont know if its better...but figure its better cause its softer lol) is if i get the urge to clench my teeth, i bite down on the inside of my cheeks, or the sides of my tongue instead...not so it hurts lol but just enough so i get my "fix" lol :)...Good luck!!

Answer 7

How about a neck issue? You do this, along with the other people who posted, because you mechanically stimulate endorphins to be released near the joint. Endorphins are your bodies morphine. You are getting your "fix" as one other commented. If you want to stop, you need treatment. If you don't, you will end up with a permanent, painful condition everytime you move your jaw.

Answer 8

I find that a little MJ always helps my TMJ.