Jaw Cracking

[ewallace]

Everytime I yawn or go to take a bite out of a medium-large sized sandwhich, my jaw cracks/pops. I mean this is noticebly loud and very, very annoying. I already know for a fact that I have TMJ. I was wondering if anyone knows what kind of procedures or treatments can be done for this sort of thing.

[wufupaul]

Yo, I have the same condition. Wearing a nightguard at night helps to stop me from grinding my teeth together, but I can't seem to get rid of the popping. I had some electro-acupuncture on my tmj joints twice, it seemed to help a little bit, but not a lot. I got a sheet of paper from the dentist about it, it gave a bunch of suggestions, most of them were pretty easy to follow; such as: not chewing on ice or hard crunchy food, ignore the urge to pop the jaws, apply ice to them, and lots of others that I can't remember right now.

[ewallace]

Yeah I had the grill piece too that I wore at night. It took away the headaches I used to get. I absolutely dispise when people chew ice. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Was that a wise crack guohuen or do you really know something that could help this? It has gotten progressively worse in the last 12 months.

[guohuen]

A lot of chiropractors specialize in TMJ. I know several people whom have had it rather seriously and were cured by chiropractice. Activator method is a school of chiropractice that utilizes a tool known as an activator. It's more precise than the hands. Most activator chiropractors will know both methods.

[ewallace]

I was hoping that someone could just crack me in the jaw real good. I'm sure there's a few people around here that would love to volunteer.

I really wish I knew what happened to my mouthpiece. Those things are not cheap. This leads me to wonder, would mouthpieces designed for football/contact sports have similar benefits if molded properly?

[guohuen]

Chiropractors don't use the mouthpieces.

[guohuen]

Go to www.activator.com
click on qualified doctors
click on Texas
You'll find seven practitioners in your town.
P.S. Don't believe any AMA spread negetivity about chiropractic, especially activator method. They have been sued for this and lost. Now they have their own version called kineseology.

[ewallace]

Thanks for the info folks. I think I'd rather stick with doctors who specialize in areas like the jaw. I have had good results with a oral surgeon and bad results with a chiropractor for a back injury.

[Aramus]

My ex-wife had TMJ, she went to the chiropractor and that helped for a month or so. The guys invited her back if she had problems and they had other, more specialized techniques to solve this. She went the surgical route. My brother is a pariadontist and recommended a "good" doctor. The surgery wasn't so fun to watch and they eventually kicked me out. They took fluid out and put some other stuff in (very scientific I know). I took care of her that day (they put her into a twilight like stage-not awake, not asleep). RESULTS: Mixed, she didn't lock up but she lost range. She was suppose to exercise and didn't do all the exercises. As aren't together I don't know if this has improved after the initial 8 months or so.

By the way, breaking it and resetting it is the more extreme way, but sometimes the only way.

Side note: What doctors think is too far is not always what chiroprators think is too far gone. Beware of the bad chiroprators/doctors/dentists/martial artists/teachers/etc. They are every where.

Good luck, best wishes :)

[fa_jing]

I knew a Rolfer who claimed he could cure most cases of TMJ and that people who had sugery for this were usually getting robbed. His treatment method was to cover his fingers and stick them into your mouth, pressing very painfully against your jaw muscles from the inside. This triggers a release of tissues which is called myofascial release. It's worth a try if you know someone.

[awakenwired]

I had this problem a long time ago. Cracking, popping, if I yawned my jaw would Lock. With a quick shake of my head I could lower my jaw again. This went on for a couple of years. I eventually learned what not to do, like how far to open the jaw, before it locks when I yawn. And not moving the jaw side to side at all. Eventually by consciously limiting the movement it got better. Now days I don't have any jaw problems at all. Seems to me a good mouth gard mold would do the same thing only faster. You won't have to spend all the time conditioning yourself to not make the harmfull movement, the gard will do it for you.

Anyway in my case all it took was that. Limiting the movement, and time.

[TaoBoy]

Good advice all round.

EW - go to a chiro or a TCM practitioner. There are a number of treatments in TCM for TMJ and other jaw problems. Check out acupuncture.com (http://www.acupuncture.com), I think they have a few articles ??

[IronFist]

I just found out if I open my jaw and shake my head from side to side I can hear a cracking noise. That's probably not a good thing :)

IronFist

[ewallace]

Probably not. Hell, if I eat a sandwhich in a quiet room I really get some strange looks. You can hear it from at least 10 feet away. It's twice as loud as someone popping their middle knuckle.

[TaoBoy]

Stay away from the sandwiches....you're scaring the children.