Jaw lock

[sparco]

I know there are a few doctors around this website so any help from those will be great.

Non sex related by the way!

When I yawn or open my mouth for long periods of time my jaw gets stuck open. It clicks into place and wont close. Sometimes its stuck open for up to 30 minutes. When I try to close my jaw during this it feels like the joint is going to explode because of the pressure.

Anyone explain this? Or know how to solve it?

Thanks

[sera300]

Sorry not a doctor here, just an advanced practice nurse, but have had extensive experience with facial injuries & trauma. First you need to get yourself to a good maxillofacial surgeon (or see your ENT doctor) for an evaluation to see if you require orthognathic surgery--corrective jaw surgery or non-surgical treatment. Two things can be happening and the proper doctor can determine which. 1-either you are hyper-extending your jaw causing the muscles to spasm which will keep the mouth/jaw open (the most common cause). Try massaging the muscles around the jaw and down nearest your ears with a circular motion to see if they relax and see if this helps to close, try for now until you see a doc. not to over open and over extend the jaw. Another option a doctor can try is muscle relaxers but you need a diagnosis first, there are several other non-surgial treatments but the doctor has to figure what is happening to cause this. 2-you may have improper aliegnment of the bones and when you hyper-extend (open the jaw too far) you may be sub-luxing (subluxation) or dislocating the bones. Meaning they may be "slipping" out of place when you over extend. The one thing with a sublux or dislocation, they generally do not re-locate on their own, it takes force to put them back (don't you try this). If you have had injury to the area, from facial trauma (car accident, boxing) it could be a cause. But only a evaluation by your doctor, or a really good oral surgeon can determine the cause. They need to see you and examine you in person and perform diagnostic tests.

Either way, you may find you also grind your teeth through the night or when tense. Here is a link about TMJ, the doctor will also evaluate you for this as well. http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/topics/tmj.cfm.