A dislocated jaw can be fixed by an emergency room doctor, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, or a dentist. In most cases, the joint is manually guided back into place during a single visit, and the procedure takes only minutes once the right provider is involved. The key is getting to one of these professionals quickly, since the longer the jaw stays out of position, the harder it becomes to reset and the more painful it gets.
Emergency Room Doctors
For most people, the emergency department is the first stop. ER physicians can diagnose a dislocation, rule out a fracture with imaging, and perform the hands-on maneuver to pop the jaw back into its socket. That said, doctors who don’t specialize in jaw problems see relatively few dislocations over their careers, so the experience level can vary. If the ER doctor can’t get the jaw back in place, they’ll typically call in an oral surgeon on staff or refer you to one.
Before attempting the reset, the ER team will usually take X-rays or a CT scan. CT is the preferred method for evaluating facial and jaw fractures in an acute setting. This step matters because a fracture changes the treatment plan entirely, and resetting a fractured jaw without knowing about the break could cause further damage.
Dentists and Oral Surgeons
General dentists are trained to recognize and manually reduce a dislocated jaw. If the dislocation happens during dental work or you can get to a dental office quickly, a dentist can often handle it on the spot. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are the true specialists here. They handle the most complex cases: jaws that have been dislocated for hours or days, fractures that accompany the dislocation, and joints that dislocate repeatedly.
For recurrent dislocations, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is the provider who performs corrective surgery to prevent it from happening again. These procedures range from reshaping the bony ridge that the jawbone slides over (called an eminectomy) to tightening the loose joint capsule and ligaments that allowed the dislocation in the first place. Eminectomy is the most widely accepted surgical approach. It removes the bony obstacle so the jaw can move freely without getting locked out of position.
How the Reset Works
The standard technique dates back to Hippocrates and is still the first-line treatment for any non-traumatic jaw dislocation. The doctor or dentist wraps their thumbs in gauze, places them inside your mouth on the lower back teeth, and wraps their remaining fingers around the outside of your lower jaw. They then press downward on the back teeth while pushing the chin upward until the jaw joint slides back into its normal position. You’ll typically feel a distinct click or pop when the condyle (the rounded end of the jawbone) returns to its socket.
The muscles around a dislocated jaw often spasm, which can make the procedure difficult. A local anesthetic injected inside the mouth can relax the area enough to allow reduction without needing sedation. In tougher cases, providers may use conscious sedation or muscle relaxants. General anesthesia is reserved for chronic dislocations that have been stuck for an extended period, where the muscles have tightened significantly around the displaced joint.
What Recovery Looks Like
Most people recover from a manually reduced jaw dislocation in about six weeks. Immediately after the reset, you’ll likely be fitted with a Barton bandage, a wrap that goes around your head and under your chin to keep the jaw stable while the stretched ligaments heal. You’ll need to stick to soft foods during this period and avoid opening your mouth wide, including for yawning.
The first few days tend to be the most uncomfortable. Swelling and soreness around the joint are normal, and the jaw may feel unstable or weak. Your provider will give you specific guidance on when you can return to normal eating and activities. If the jaw dislocates again during recovery or you notice it slipping out of place with everyday movements like yawning or eating, that’s a sign you may need to see an oral and maxillofacial surgeon to discuss longer-term solutions.
When Surgery Becomes Necessary
A single dislocation that’s promptly reset usually heals without lasting problems. Chronic or recurrent dislocations are a different situation. Some people have naturally loose joint capsules or a jaw anatomy that makes repeated dislocations more likely. Others develop the problem after a traumatic injury that stretched the ligaments beyond their ability to heal tightly.
Surgical options for these cases include eminectomy, which smooths the bony ridge so the jaw can’t get trapped in front of it, and capsular plication, where the surgeon tightens the loose capsule and ligaments by folding and stitching them to the surrounding tissue. These are performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons, often under general anesthesia, and are aimed at making the joint stable enough that it stops dislocating on its own. The choice of procedure depends on what’s causing the recurrence: if the anatomy is the issue, bone reshaping is the focus; if the soft tissue is too lax, tightening the capsule is the priority. In some cases, surgeons do both.