A few years ago my jaw started popping after a jaw fracture. Is this permanent?
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Jaw Fracture Popping
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3 UpVoted this answer
It's hard to say. It may be, but popping in and of itself is not necessarily a problem. Depending on the nature of the fracture, or the injury that caused it, it may or may not be related. Lots of people have joint popping or clicking with no history of jaw injury. Unless you are having pain, difficulty opening or closing your mouth, or difficulty eating, I would not worry overly about it. If it continues to get worse, I would have it checked out. I agree with the other response: if you do seek treatment , see someone who is experienced treating TMD problems. It might be worth having some x-rays to establish a baseline. If anyone recommends surgery or a lot of dental work to treat this, I would get a second opinion. And I would be very hesitant to have any treatment whose goal is just to treat popping, except for possibly having a splint or "nightguard" made.
You will need to go to a Dentist who has experience in dealing with TMD problems.it may be that the disc in your TMJ is displaced following fractureAlso because of close proximity of TMJ to the middle ear there can be other concerns.Proper assessment with joint xrays may be needed in your case before any treatment or prognosis can be suggested.
The trauma that broke your jaw may have also damaged the disc in the jaw joint. Since you have had this for some years you can assume that all healing has taken place in the jaw so the popping may be permanent. You did not mention anything about pain, headaches, limited opening, problems eating or a change in your bite, so it is not possible to tell you what is going on or if you need any treatment. The only way to know the answer to this would be with a TMJ exam with x-rays and perhaps MRI imaging.Sometimes treatment may be very beneficial but sometimes no treatment is needed for a clicking tmj
More information is needed to provide a definitive answer. I would suggest seeing a practioner who is experienced in dealing with jaw issues (also called TMD or TMJ problems). A thorough evaluation is needed to diagnose the problem and determine the best course of treatment. Some clicks do resolve with treatment- some do not.
This is difficult to determine. I would recommend seeing an oral and maxillofacial surgeon for an evaluation. With some of the new diagnostic modalities, they will be able to diagnose what is wrong and treat it.
How was the jaw broken and where? Was it due to trauma or an intentional break for orthognathic surgery? Do both sides pop? There are many factors to consider with this type of issue.
How was the jaw broken and where? Was it due to trauma or an intentional break for orthognathic surgery? Do both sides pop? There are many factors to consider with this type of issue.
If the popping started after the jaw fracture, it serves to reason that the healing is not complete or the healing occured in slighly different position. Jaw popping is fairly common with no adverse effects, but if you experience any pain or discomfort, you should consult an oro-max surgeon.
A book can be written on this subject.
Almost always the clicking is a result of one or both temporomandibular joint discs popping on and off the end of the jaw joint.
This is often painless but over the years can cause unwanted changes in the shape of the articular disc and perhaps later unwanted changes in the surrounding bone.
When your jaw fractured, it could have healing in a slightly different place that is not as supportive of this disc.
So the disc slipped off of it's natural seat.
When you bite down hard the disc slips off.
When you open it probably pops back on.
You should consult a dentist who is knowledgeable in TMD therapy.
I wish you the very best.
Almost always the clicking is a result of one or both temporomandibular joint discs popping on and off the end of the jaw joint.
This is often painless but over the years can cause unwanted changes in the shape of the articular disc and perhaps later unwanted changes in the surrounding bone.
When your jaw fractured, it could have healing in a slightly different place that is not as supportive of this disc.
So the disc slipped off of it's natural seat.
When you bite down hard the disc slips off.
When you open it probably pops back on.
You should consult a dentist who is knowledgeable in TMD therapy.
I wish you the very best.
I think most of the answers below have it. I'm very much in agreement with my colleagues David Darab and John Scuba. They made very pertinent statements. I think it would be important to know the type of mandible fracture you sustained. If we are talking about a condylar or subcondylar fracture, you should have the joint/s examined by a knowledgeable maxillofacial surgeon. By the same token, if this mandible fracture had more than one line of fracture (or site), even without involving the condyle itself, it is suggestive of a more involved mechanism of action. Henceforth, again, You should have it checked. As far as this being permanent, it is hard to predict. The popping may disappear or change alltogether (i.e.crepitus or click or both and so on). Without being pesimistic, once one joint remodels, the other joint may become symptomatic.
Unfortunately, it (popping) likely is not going away. The disks in either joint, even in the absence of trauma severe enough to fracture the jaw, are very susceptible to displacement, which is most likely the cause of jaw "popping". In addition, many jaw fractures occur where severe but nonfractured jaw joint injuries have occurred (blood or swelling in the joint) but are overlooked or untreated. While some "popping" of the jaws may be benign, improperly managed joint injuries and lack of followup care can result in progressive jaw dysfunction, jaw locking, and even joint ankylosis or "freezing". As the joint issues may be related to a number of things for which only a surgeon is trained--adequate fracture care, proper bone repositioning, reestablishment of proper bite, and completion of healing--jaw fractures and residual jaw joint issues should be managed by oral surgeons rather than by "dentists that treat TMD".
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