You open wide to take a bite and your jaw makes a small click. Maybe it happens once a day, maybe every meal. Most people ignore it, and often that is the right call.
But sometimes that click is the first sign of something worth checking. Here is how to tell the difference.
Your jaw joint is just in front of your ear. Inside it there is a small cushion of cartilage that slides along as you open and close. When that cushion slips slightly out of place and then snaps back, you hear a click.
On its own, a click that does not hurt is usually nothing to worry about. Plenty of people click for years without a problem.
Book a visit if the click comes with any of these:
Pain plus clicking is the combination to watch. A click by itself rarely needs treatment. A click with pain usually has a cause, and often a simple one.
Grinding and clenching are the two big ones. Most people who do it have no idea, because it happens at night and stress makes it worse. Over months the extra load wears on the joint.
A bite that does not meet evenly can do the same thing. So can an old injury, or years of chewing on one side because a tooth on the other side hurts.
It is a short appointment. We feel the joint while you open and close, listen for the noise, and look at how your teeth meet. Then we ask about headaches, sleep, and whether anyone has told you that you grind.
Most of the time the answer is a night guard, advice about the muscles, and a follow up visit. Surgery and braces come into it far less often than people fear.
If a week of that changes nothing, or if there is pain, book a visit. Waiting for it to settle on its own is the slower road.
We have been looking after London families since 1972, from our office on Aldersbrook Road. If your jaw is clicking and it has started to bother you, our jaw pain treatment London Ontario appointment is the place to start. Call 519-472-4460 or book online, and we are open to 7pm on Monday and Tuesday if daytime does not work.
