Does anyone suffer with a cracking jaw, mainly at night. I have to wrench my mouth open hard and then it cracks, sometimes it feels as if i have lockjaw. It clicks really loudly even hubby can hear it. Its not painful just uncomfortableI have quite a bit of joint damage in the jaw due to RA. I see a dentist who specializes in TMJ and other jaw joint disorders. At some point we will go in and clean the joint out but having my jaw wired shut for 6 weeks is not really in my best intrest right now. Of course, my students would love it :)My husband would think it was a good ideaDefinitely sounds like TMJ disorder. I was having a lot of toothache and ear pain and went to a tmj specialist. He made me a splint (retainer) for my lower teeth to wear all of the time. It helped to relax my jaw and relieve the pressure on the joint. I did this for about a year and then went on maintenance. I had not been diagnosed with ra at that time. Now I am only wearing the splint at night, but feel so much better when I wear it all of the time. My jaw has definitely drifted, as my bite has changed significantly (and not for the better). I am due to go to the orthodontist in a week to see about braces. I think I was probably dismissed from the tmj treatment too soon, but ultimately I think I would have ended up in braces anyway because of the arthritis in my tmjoint.
Definitely get it checked out. TMJ can cause all sorts of problems you wouldn't associate with it, like headaches, ear pain, toothaches, sleep problems, and other things. Hope this helps a bit.
my jaw get sore at times.. I'm sure it's inflamed... just achey and I don't want to eat or talk..I have had RA in my jaw which included a grinding sound, but it was also painful and I could only eat soft foods. Fortunately it succumbed to a Humira injection and hasn't returned...wasn't pleasant.