One thing I find interesting about TMJ problems is that two people can have a clicking jaw, but their experiences can be completely different.
The TMJ is the joint that connects your lower jaw to your skull. There is a small, soft disc inside the joint that helps it move smoothly when you open and close your mouth.
Sometimes, this disc moves out of its normal position. What happens next depends on whether it can move back into position when you open your mouth.
In disc displacement with reduction, the disc is displaced when the mouth is closed, but as you open your mouth, it moves back into a more normal position. This movement can produce that familiar clicking sound.
When you close your mouth, the disc may slip out again. That is why some people hear a click almost every time they open or close their mouth.
But there is another situation: disc displacement without reduction.
Here, the disc doesn’t move back into its normal position when you open your mouth. In some cases, this can restrict the movement of the jaw joint, making it difficult to open the mouth properly. This is close lock jaw condition. this can be a painful and uncomfortable condition for the patient. People may describe it as feeling like something is blocking their jaw. Eating, yawning, and even brushing their teeth can become difficult.
Intermittent locking may occur as a transitional clinical presentation between disc displacement with reduction and disc displacement without reduction, although this progression is not inevitable.
Patients may describe episodes in which they are temporarily unable to open their mouth fully. The jaw may feel stuck or restricted, but the patient can often regain movement and achieve fuller mouth opening with gentle manipulation or specific jaw movements.
Something worth knowing is that a person who previously had clicking may notice that the click has disappeared, but their mouth no longer opens as widely as before. This can happen when the disc stops reducing, although there are other possible causes too.
Does this mean that every clicking jaw will eventually lock? No. Not everyone with disc displacement develops locking., but there are possibilities.
The diagnosis depends on the symptoms and clinical examination. An MRI may help assess the disc when needed, but the scan alone doesn’t tell the whole story.
Treatment also depends on the individual case.
I think one of the most important things to understand about TMJ problems is that clicking, pain, and restricted mouth opening are not necessarily the same problem, even though they can be related.
I’m curious to know — has anyone experienced a clicking jaw for a long time and then noticed a change in their mouth opening? Did the clicking stop, or did something else happen?