I hear loud noises when I eat. - Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris

Next to our ear we have a very special and unique joint, called the Temperoromandibular joint or TMJ, that connects the jaw and the skull. It is unique both in it’s structure and function. The way the joint works is by a combination of 2 movements, a rotation which is the common movement to all other joints and a sliding movement which allows for the jaw to open further. For this second part of the joint movement our body had developed a special piece of tissue called the “disk” which is unique to the TMJ. The disk is there to facilitate the sliding movement of the jaw. When thing go wrong in the joint, we have Temperoromandibular disorders which can originate from either muscle or joint problems and they manifest themselves with headaches, pain around the external ear, neck pains, joint clicking that in severe cases can result in jaws that ‘lock’ in the open or closed position.

At times we hear, a click or a scraping noise when we yawn or chew, the reason for it is some derangement in the position or structure of the disk. The closeness between the joint and our ear magnifies the noise several times, so it feels like everybody can hear it, but usually they cannot.

The treatment for the jaw will depend on what is wrong in the jaw. A good advice is to lessen the load on the joint by:

Eating soft foods.
Stop or reduce chewing gum.
Avoid wide yawning, singing and biting your nails.
Try and stop clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth. At times this is difficult since most of us do it while sleeping or concentrating in something else.
Massage your affected muscles and apply a heated pad to increase blood flow to the affected muscles.

If there is pain in the joint or the condition persists please contact us to have a thorough examination.