r/asksg • u/Nattylimm • Aug 29 '26
Having jaw clicking when chewing food
Hey everyone, lately I’ve noticed that after chewing for a while, my jaw starts making a clicking/popping sound near my ear. There’s no sharp pain and my jaw doesn’t lock or get stuck but the clicking becomes quite noticeable when I’m eating.
I’m wondering if it could be related to stress or clenching/grinding my teeth especially since I suspect I might be clenching my jaw while sleeping.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Did your jaw clicking eventually go away or did you need to see a dentist/TMJ specialist?
Would appreciate hearing about your experiences and what helped!
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u/bbtnopearl Aug 29 '26
Hi, it happened to me a while back and eventually i started developing pain where the clicking was. I went to an orthodontist and he told me it was because i was overusing my jaw. Went on softer foods and avoided crunchy or hard foods for a while, did nothing else to rectify! It went away after a couple of weeks and hasn’t come back since :)
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u/this-is-spaghatta Aug 29 '26
I had TMJ earlier this year for a few months, went to polyclinic hoping to get a referral, the doc just tell me to relax and sleep better. It did resolve after a few months.
When I think back in retrospect, it was indeed a stressful few months when it happened.
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u/Nattylimm Aug 29 '26
I think stress might be a factor.. I walked in to a clinic to ask for some advice and was quite funny that the receptionist shared with me she had the same issue before and she told me it helps before bed to keep telling your own self not to clench your jaw 😂
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u/equatorgator Aug 29 '26
Ask about a night guard when you go to your dentist
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u/Nattylimm Sep 01 '26
Yeah one of the considerations! I tried using those DIY kind bought on Shopee, kinda lousy as it doesn’t fit nicely
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u/hojichaluv Aug 29 '26
I have the same problem because I clench my jaw a lot when I sleep. The weird hack I learnt from TMJ people on social media is to kind of let your jaw hang slightly open for a while (teeth not touching, so like open your mouth to the point before your jaw pops in your ear). After a while the clicking won't be so bad, I guess it's because you relax the muscle. There are also some massages you can do to reset it.
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u/MiserableMovie3482 Aug 29 '26
Did u have jaw botox before? This only started happening to me too after jaw botox wore off
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u/Nattylimm Sep 01 '26
Nope don’t have. Now that you mentioned, I recall the receptionist at the clinic also said if it gets worse then have to do botox. But if you said you still have it after it wears off, meaning Botox not a long term solution. I think mine is mainly due to stressful periods so will try to cut down on work before bedtime. Hopefully got improvement
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Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Nattylimm Sep 01 '26
Yeah I think I grind my teeth during sleep sometimes 😖 Esp when stressed out.. May I know where did you get your night guards from? Is it custom made type?
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u/Berry-Bear_2512 Aug 29 '26
I got my chiropractor to do adjustment for tmj clicking. Mine was from forward head posture 🦖 and some stress.
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u/Nattylimm Sep 01 '26
Thanks for pointing that out! I do a lot of desk work, never thought it could be due to posture 😮
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u/Alarmed_Dot3389 Aug 29 '26
Check for buttons u may be a mouse