TMJ & Jaw Pain · San Ramon
Jaw pain, clicking, and the headaches nobody connects to teeth
Most people with jaw joint symptoms have seen a doctor about the headaches long before anyone looked at their bite.
Who this is for
- Jaw that clicks, pops or catches when you open
- Headaches worst first thing in the morning
- Aching around the ears or temples that no one has explained
- Difficulty opening wide, or a jaw that has locked
What the joint is doing
The temporomandibular joint is unusual — it hinges and slides, and there is a small cartilage disc between the bones that has to move in step with the jaw. When that disc slips slightly out of position and snaps back, you get the click.
A click on its own, with no pain and no restriction, is extremely common and usually needs nothing but monitoring. It is when pain, limited opening or locking join it that assessment is worthwhile.
The muscles matter as much as the joint. Most of the morning headache pattern is muscular — the jaw muscles have been working all night against a clenched bite, and those muscles refer pain to the temples and behind the eyes.
Why we look at this at a dental practice
Because the most common driver we can actually do something about is night-time clenching and grinding, and the evidence for it is on your teeth.
We check the wear pattern, feel the muscles and the joint through the range of movement, measure how far you can open, and look at how your teeth meet. That combination tells us whether this is muscular, joint-related, or something outside our remit.
What we can and cannot do
Where clenching is driving it, a properly made night guard, adjusted so the bite meets evenly, resolves or substantially improves symptoms for a lot of patients. That is straightforward and we make them here.
Where the joint itself is damaged, where there is a locked disc that will not reduce, or where symptoms point to something systemic like an inflammatory arthritis, that needs an oral and maxillofacial specialist. We refer those, and we will say so at the assessment rather than trying a guard first and wasting your time.
We are also honest that TMJ disorder is an area with a lot of expensive and poorly evidenced treatment around it. We will not sell you full-mouth reconstruction for a clicking joint.
What to expect
Here’s how the visit actually goes.
No surprises. That’s the whole idea.
01
The history
When it started, what makes it worse, whether it wakes you, whether it has locked. This tells us more than the examination does.
02
The examination
Feeling the joint and the muscles through movement, measuring your opening, and checking the wear on your teeth.
03
The explanation
What we think is happening and — just as important — what we do not think is happening.
04
The plan
Often a night guard and some straightforward self-management. Sometimes a referral. Occasionally just reassurance and a review in six months.
Questions
Answered before you ask.
My jaw clicks but does not hurt. Should I worry?
Almost certainly not. Painless clicking with a normal range of opening is very common and generally needs nothing. Mention it at your check-ups so we can note whether it changes.
Will a night guard fix it?
Where clenching is the driver, it often helps considerably. Where the problem is inside the joint itself, it will not — and we would rather tell you that than take your money for one.
What can I do at home?
Soft foods during a flare-up, avoid chewing gum and biting nails, do not open wide at the dentist or the hairdresser without support, and apply moist heat to the muscles. Most acute episodes settle within a few weeks.
Do you treat TMJ disorder itself?
We evaluate it and we treat the bite-related component. Genuine internal joint derangement goes to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon — that is outside what a general practice should be attempting.
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