Jaw clicking is usually caused by a small disc inside your jaw joint slipping out of position, then popping back into place as you open your mouth. The good news: most cases respond well to simple, at-home strategies without ever needing surgery. Treatment ranges from dietary changes and jaw exercises to dental splints, injections, and, in rare cases, minimally invasive procedures.
What Causes the Click
Your jaw joint (the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ) contains a small, rubbery disc that acts as a cushion between the bones. When that disc shifts forward, it sits in front of the rounded end of your jawbone. As you open your mouth wider than about 10 millimeters, the disc snaps back into its correct position, producing the click or pop you hear. You may notice a second, softer click when you close your mouth as the disc slips forward again. This is called disc displacement with reduction, and it’s the most common internal jaw joint problem.
The disc shifts because the ligaments holding it in place have stretched out, or because the disc itself has changed shape over time. Clenching, grinding your teeth at night, and chronic jaw tension all accelerate this process. In many people, the clicking is painless. Others experience soreness with chewing and notice the jaw drifting to one side when they open wide.
Self-Care That Actually Helps
Conservative self-care is the first line of treatment, and for a lot of people, it’s the only treatment needed. The core idea is to reduce stress on the joint so the surrounding tissues can calm down and, in some cases, adapt to the disc’s new position.
Start with these changes:
- Switch to softer foods. Avoid chewy bread, tough meat, raw carrots, and anything that forces your jaw to work hard. Cut food into small pieces and chew on both sides.
- Stop opening wide. Skip the giant burgers and stifle big yawns. Keeping your jaw within a comfortable range prevents the disc from snapping back and forth as aggressively.
- Break clenching habits. Rest your tongue lightly on the roof of your mouth with your teeth slightly apart. This is the natural resting position for your jaw. Check in throughout the day, especially during stressful moments or screen time.
- Apply moist heat. A warm, damp towel held against the side of your face for 15 to 20 minutes relaxes the muscles around the joint and improves blood flow.
- Watch your posture. Forward head posture, common with desk work, shifts the position of your lower jaw and adds strain to the joint. Sitting upright with your ears over your shoulders makes a real difference over time.
These changes can take several weeks to produce noticeable improvement. The clicking itself may not disappear entirely, but pain, stiffness, and the feeling of the jaw catching often decrease significantly within the first month.
Jaw Exercises and Stretches
Gentle exercises can improve jaw mobility and strengthen the muscles that stabilize the disc. One of the simplest is controlled opening: place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and slowly open your jaw as far as you can without the tongue losing contact. This limits how far the jaw drops and trains the muscles to open in a straight line rather than deviating to one side.
Lateral stretches help too. Place your thumb under your chin, then gently push your jaw to the left and hold for five seconds, then to the right. Repeat five to ten times, two or three times a day. The goal isn’t to force the joint but to encourage smooth, symmetrical movement. If any exercise increases your pain, stop and try again with less pressure in a few days.
Dental Splints and Mouthguards
If self-care alone isn’t enough, a dentist or oral specialist may recommend a custom oral appliance. Two main types exist: stabilization splints and repositioning splints.
A stabilization splint is a flat-surfaced guard, usually worn on the upper teeth, that prevents clenching and grinding while distributing bite forces evenly. A repositioning splint holds the lower jaw slightly forward, keeping the disc in a more favorable position. Research comparing the two approaches found no meaningful difference in short-term clicking reduction. Over the long term, stabilization splints may perform slightly better, though the evidence remains limited. Either way, splints tend to reduce pain and improve function even when the click itself persists.
Over-the-counter night guards from a pharmacy are a cheaper alternative, but they’re bulkier and less precise. A custom-fitted splint from a dentist conforms closely to your teeth and is more comfortable to wear consistently, which is what matters most for results.
Injections and Muscle Relaxation
When muscle tension around the jaw is a major contributor, injections can help. Corticosteroid injections delivered directly into the joint space reduce inflammation and can provide relief lasting several months. For people whose clicking is driven by chronic clenching or grinding, botulinum toxin (Botox) injections into the chewing muscles offer another option. The injections weaken the overactive muscles just enough to reduce the force on the joint without affecting normal chewing. Treatment typically targets the masseter (the large muscle along your jawline) and sometimes the temporalis muscle near your temple.
Results from Botox usually appear within a week or two and last three to four months before the muscles gradually regain their full strength. Repeat treatments are common, and many people find that after several rounds, their clenching habit decreases even between injections.
When Clicking Becomes Something More
Simple clicking is one thing. A grinding or crunching sound is something different. Clinicians distinguish between a click (a single, distinct pop) and crepitus (a grating, sandpaper-like noise during movement). Crepitus points to degenerative changes in the joint surface itself, not just a displaced disc, and it requires a different treatment approach.
Another progression to watch for is “closed lock.” This happens when the disc shifts forward and stays there, blocking the jaw from opening fully. If your clicking suddenly stops and you can’t open your mouth more than about 25 to 30 millimeters (roughly two finger-widths), the disc has likely locked in front of the jawbone. This is painful and limits eating and speaking, but it’s treatable. Early intervention within the first few weeks of locking produces the best outcomes.
A fully dislocated jaw, where the bone itself moves out of the socket and you physically cannot close your mouth, is a medical emergency. The jaw will look visibly lopsided, and your teeth won’t meet. This requires emergency room treatment to reposition the bone.
Minimally Invasive Procedures
For persistent clicking with pain or limited opening that hasn’t responded to months of conservative care, a procedure called arthrocentesis is often the next step. A clinician inserts two small needles into the joint space and flushes it with sterile fluid. This washes out inflammatory debris and breaks up adhesions that may be preventing the disc from moving smoothly. Across studies involving over 580 patients, arthrocentesis produced positive results in about 83.5% of cases. It’s done under local anesthesia, takes roughly 30 minutes, and recovery is quick.
Arthroscopy is a step up. A tiny camera is inserted into the joint through a small incision, allowing the surgeon to see the disc directly and, in some cases, reposition or secure it. This is a same-day surgery under general anesthesia, and most people return to normal activities within one to two weeks.
Open Surgery as a Last Resort
Open-joint surgery is reserved for structural problems that can’t be addressed through a scope, such as a severely damaged disc that needs to be reshaped or removed. Recovery takes two to six weeks and involves a short hospital stay. These procedures are uncommon because the vast majority of clicking jaws never reach this point.
The typical treatment path looks like this: self-care for four to eight weeks, then a dental splint if symptoms persist, then injections or arthrocentesis if the splint isn’t enough, and surgery only after everything else has been tried. Most people find relief well before reaching the later stages.