Jaw pain, clicking and difficulty opening your mouth usually get grouped together as “TMJ”. But the temporomandibular joint is a joint like any other — and what is irritating yours is the part worth establishing before anything is treated.
The temporomandibular joint — the TMJ — is the hinge connecting your lower jaw to your skull, sitting just in front of each ear. You have one on each side, and they work together every time you talk, chew, yawn or swallow. Few joints in the body are used more.
“TMJ” is the name of the joint, not a diagnosis. When people say they have TMJ they usually mean a TMJ disorder — pain or dysfunction involving the joint, the disc inside it, or the muscles that move it. That is the same distinction as sciatica: a label describing where the trouble shows up, not what is causing it.
The joint also does not work in isolation. The muscles that close the jaw, the position of the head and neck, and the upper cervical spine all influence how the joint loads and moves. That is where a chiropractic examination has something to contribute — and it is also why jaw symptoms so often arrive alongside neck tension and temple headaches.
Jaw pain has several possible contributors, and more than one is often involved at once. Which apply to you is what an examination is for — and some of them belong to your dentist rather than to us.
Sustained tension in the jaw muscles, often overnight or under stress. Symptoms that are worst first thing in the morning point this way. This is squarely dental territory, and we will say so.
The disc inside the joint can move poorly against the bone, which is what produces clicking or popping as the jaw opens and closes.
The upper cervical spine and sustained forward head posture change how the jaw hangs and how the closing muscles work. This is the contribution chiropractic care is aimed at.
About chiropractic care →The masseter and temporalis muscles can become chronically tight and tender, referring pain into the jaw, temple and ear.
About ShockWave →Like any joint, the TMJ can develop degenerative change, which alters how smoothly it moves.
A blow to the jaw, or the neck loading of a car accident, can leave the joint and its muscles symptomatic afterwards.
About auto accident injuries →Jaw problems rarely stay in the jaw. These are the complaints that commonly appear together:
Read the first item carefully. Jaw pain is not always a jaw problem.
For anything on this list, seek emergency medical care. The first item is a 911 call, not a drive to urgent care.
Care is aimed at the joint mechanics, the muscles that move the jaw, and the neck and posture loading them. What goes into your plan — and whether any of it is appropriate at all — is decided by your examination.
Jaw pain is one of the areas where being told plainly what a chiropractor cannot do matters most. If your case is primarily dental, or if the examination points somewhere outside our scope, you will hear that at the evaluation and be referred appropriately.
Jaw symptoms are frequently accompanied by upper cervical and postural findings. Assessing both is the part that is often missed when the jaw is looked at in isolation.
Dr. Matthew Richter, DC has been in practice since 1997, with certification in Class IV laser therapy.
Chiropractic care, Class IV laser and Storz Medical ShockWave are all available here and coordinated in a single plan.
Where the problem is dental, or medical, we say so and refer. That is a better outcome for you than a course of care aimed at the wrong thing.
Where a conservative approach is appropriate for your case, that is where we start.
Jaw pain has several possible sources, and some of them are not ours to treat. A full consultation and examination with one of our doctors is where that gets sorted out.
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