What does this mean?
In the jaw joint the bone surfaces do not touch each other directly; between them there is a slippery disc and a smooth covering of cartilage. When this covering thins or the surface becomes rough, the movement no longer stays silent. Because you hear the noise from inside your own skull, the people next to you often do not notice it.
The distinguishing point is how long the noise lasts. A click is a single, sharp noise heard at one particular moment of opening or closing, and it has to do with the disc slipping back into place. A grating noise, by contrast, carries on from the beginning of the movement to the end, is not tied to a single point, and when you put your hand in front of your ear it can often be felt with your finger as well.
This noise points to a structural change on the joint surface; it usually develops over years and on its own is not counted as an emergency. The surface is not expected to go back to how it was. The loudness of the noise and the severity of the pain do not always go together; there are people with a marked noise and no pain at all.
Wear of the joint surface is not put down to a single cause; age, long-standing overloading, a disc problem in the past and some inflammatory joint diseases can arrive at the same result by different routes.
Likely causes
What helps at home?
- Do not move your jaw over and over just to hear the noise; this loads the joint needlessly.
- Cut down on hard, long-chewed foods and break your meals into small pieces.
- Check during the day that your teeth are not touching each other; a clenching habit increases the load on the joint.
- Keep a written record of when the noise started and of whether there has been any change in pain or in your mouth opening.
- Your mouth opening reducing markedly along with the noise
- Your bite changing within a short time
- Swelling, warmth or fever in the joint area
- Morning stiffness and swelling in your other joints as well
- Jaw pain that breaks your sleep and does not go with painkillers
Frequently asked questions
- Will this noise go away?
- The noise is usually not expected to disappear completely, because its source is a structural change on the joint surface. The aim is not to silence the noise; it is to reduce the pain and the difficulty with chewing and to lower the load on the joint. In many people the noise stays for good but causes no complaint.
- I have no pain, should I still see a dentist?
- A painless noise has no reason of its own to be urgent. Even so, if it has appeared for the first time, it is worth having it assessed once. Especially if crown or denture work, orthodontics or any treatment that will take a long time is planned, knowing the state of the joint may affect the plan.
- I used to have a click, now I get a grating noise. What has changed?
- A change in the character of the noise suggests that the joint may have moved into another stage. A click points more to the disc, while a rubbing noise that carries on throughout the movement points to the surface. Telling your dentist about this change means it can be assessed together with measurements of your mouth opening and of your bite.
This content is for general information and does not replace an in-person examination. Symptoms overlap between conditions, and a diagnosis can only be made clinically.