My jaw clicks, pops, or tires when chewing I have TMJ or TMJD

When the TMJ (temporal mandibular joint) is not tracking properly, a person is said to have TMJD (the D is for dysfunction), though many people commonly say, I have TMJ. Well, we all do. Muscle imbalances within the jaw, cranium (head), and neck can cause the TMJ not to open and/or close properly. This can result in a jaw that hurts, pops, clicks, can’t open all the way, can’t close properly, deviates or zigzags when opening or closing, or tires when chewing. TMJD affects a lot of people and is the cause of their headaches, neckaches, irritability, fatigue, and even constantly biting their jaw or lip. The muscle imbalances causing the problems are commonly due to past injuries to the head, neck, or jaw itself. The TMJ has an intricate influence on the rest of the body due to the neurological connection with which it functions. Therefore, just about anything can affect the TMJ and vice-versa. This is why someone may only have a jaw problem when they are sick – or their TMJ problems may have first started when they became sick. It is not uncommon for a TMJ issue to start once a woman has a hysterectomy or after she goes through menopause.

A jaw fatiguing from a typical meal or even chewing gum is similar to when any other muscle fatigues. Sometimes it is a direct muscle problem within the jaw, other times it is from a lack of certain nutrients, most common pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5).

The immune system has a strong relationship to the jaw (hence the immune example above) but also so does blood sugar. I wrote a paper (under Research Papers) linking TMJ problems to blood sugar handling problems (dysglycemia) and tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

Often the TMJ is the symptom, and not the cause. Another great example is grinding of the teeth at night (bruxism). This is a stress problem that the person is not dealing with it is not a TMJ problem. And a night guard may keep you from destroying your teeth, but it won’t fix the problem.

Also check out my research paper on TMJ and Dysglycemia under the Research Paper link.