How to Fix Jaw Pain and Clicking: Causes, Treatment Options, and Cost
Jaw pain and clicking usually come from the muscles that move the jaw or from the jaw joint itself, and most cases improve with conservative care: rest, heat, soft diet, gentle exercises, and a night guard for clenching. Orthodontic treatment helps when a specific bite problem is driving the strain, and is not a general cure.
Dr. Jenée Kaplan, DDS
Orthodontic residency and a Master’s degree at Loma Linda University. Member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the American Dental Association, and the California Dental Association.
What is temporomandibular disorder?
The temporomandibular joints sit just in front of each ear and are among the most-used joints in the body. Problems affecting them and the muscles that drive them are grouped under the term temporomandibular disorder, and they show up as aching around the jaw, ear or temple, clicking or popping on opening, difficulty opening wide, or a jaw that locks.
Most of what patients call TMJ pain is muscular rather than a problem inside the joint. Muscles that have been clenching at night or bracing all day become tender and refer pain to the ear and temple, which is why so many people arrive convinced they have an ear infection.
A clicking jaw with no pain and no limitation is common and, on its own, usually needs nothing more than review. Clicking is not automatically a diagnosis. What warrants attention is pain, a change in how far the jaw opens, or a bite that has started to feel different.
This page is deliberately more cautious than the others on this site. The honest state of the evidence is that jaw pain is multifactorial — habit, stress, sleep, posture, arthritis, and injury all contribute — and that the link between bite alignment and jaw pain is weaker than it was once believed to be.
What causes jaw pain and clicking?
- Clenching and grinding
- The contributor found most often. Sustained muscle load, usually at night and often alongside stress or disturbed sleep, makes the jaw muscles sore and loads the joints — though the relationship is not a simple one, and plenty of people who clench have no pain at all. Most people who do it have no idea they do it.
- Disc displacement inside the joint
- A small cartilage disc cushions each joint. When it slips forward of its normal position it produces the classic click as it reduces on opening, and can cause locking if it stops reducing at all.
- A bite that forces the jaw to shift
- A crossbite or a single tooth hitting first can make the jaw close from a shifted position, loading the joints unevenly. This is the subset of jaw pain where orthodontic correction has a clear rationale, because there is an identifiable mechanical cause to remove.
- Arthritis and joint degeneration
- The jaw joints develop osteoarthritis like any other joint, more often with age. In some cases degeneration shortens the back of the jaw and changes the bite, so a bite change can be the symptom rather than the cause.
- Injury and habit
- A blow to the jaw, prolonged wide opening during a dental procedure, nail biting, chewing gum for hours, or holding a phone against the shoulder all load the system in ways it tolerates poorly.
Why does jaw pain matter?
- Pain and sleep. Jaw and temple pain that is worst on waking disrupts sleep, and poor sleep increases clenching, which is a loop worth interrupting early.
- Tooth wear and fracture. Clenching and grinding flatten enamel, crack cusps, and break restorations. The dental cost of untreated grinding accumulates quietly over years.
- Limited function. A jaw that will not open fully makes eating, dental care, and sometimes speaking harder, and a locked jaw is an urgent problem rather than a wait-and-see one.
- Headache. Tension-type headache around the temples frequently accompanies jaw muscle overload and often improves when the muscle problem is managed.
- Chronicity. Pain that has run for a long time is generally harder to settle, which is the argument for starting conservative care early rather than waiting it out.
How is jaw pain treated?
Conservative care first
Soft diet for a period, heat, avoiding wide opening and gum, gentle jaw exercises, and managing the stress and sleep that drive clenching. For a large majority of patients this is enough, and it is the appropriate first step in nearly every case.
Who it suits: Almost everyone with jaw pain, as the starting point. Anything irreversible — grinding teeth down to adjust the bite, or committing to orthodontics purely to treat pain — should come after conservative care has been given a fair trial, not before.
A night guard
A custom splint worn at night separates the teeth, protects enamel from grinding, and relieves muscle load. It does not stop clenching, and it is not meant to — it redistributes the consequences and gives the muscles and joints room to settle.
Who it suits: Patients who clench or grind, which is most of those presenting with muscular jaw pain. Made from a proper impression rather than bought ready-made, since an ill-fitting guard can move teeth.
Orthodontic correction of a specific bite problem
Where examination identifies a mechanical cause — a crossbite forcing a shift, a tooth contacting first, a bite that has collapsed after tooth loss — correcting it removes the load that is driving the strain. The rationale is the identified mechanism, not the presence of pain.
Who it suits: Patients with both jaw symptoms and a demonstrable bite problem. Not indicated for jaw pain with a sound bite: orthodontic treatment is not an established general treatment for temporomandibular disorder, and an honest consultation will say so rather than sell a case.
Referral
Physical therapy for the jaw and neck, a clinician specializing in orofacial pain, a sleep physician where sleep-disordered breathing is suspected, or an oral and maxillofacial surgeon for a joint that locks or shows significant degeneration.
Who it suits: Persistent pain that has not responded to conservative care, a jaw that locks, or a suspected sleep disorder. Knowing when a problem belongs to someone else is part of treating it properly.
How is jaw pain treated at each age?
Children
Jaw pain is relatively uncommon in children and usually muscular or habit-related. Where a crossbite is forcing a shift, correcting it early is well justified on growth grounds alone. Persistent joint symptoms in a child warrant assessment for juvenile arthritis rather than being assumed to be a bite problem.
Teenagers
Symptoms often appear alongside exam stress, sport, and irregular sleep. Conservative care and a guard handle most of it. Where comprehensive orthodontic treatment is happening anyway, an unbalanced bite is corrected as part of it.
Adults
The commonest age for these symptoms, and the age where causes multiply: grinding, arthritis, previous injury, and bites that have collapsed after tooth loss. Assessment starts broadly — including whether a recent bite change is a sign of joint degeneration rather than a cause of it.
What does it cost to treat jaw pain?
Orthodontic fees are quoted per case rather than per condition, because two people with the same diagnosis can need very different treatment. These are the factors that move the number up or down, so you know what you are being quoted on:
- Whether care is conservative, which is comparatively inexpensive, or comprehensive orthodontic treatment.
- A custom night guard, which is a separate fee from orthodontic treatment.
- Imaging where joint degeneration is suspected.
- Referrals to physical therapy, an orofacial pain specialist, or a sleep physician, each billed by that practice.
- Medical rather than dental benefits, which sometimes apply to jaw joint disorders and are worth checking before assuming the cost.
Ask for the fee, the payment schedule, and your insurance benefit in writing at the consultation, before you decide anything. Any orthodontic practice should give you all three without being pressed.
When should you see someone about jaw pain?
- If jaw pain has persisted beyond a few weeks, or is worst on waking, which points to night-time clenching.
- If the jaw locks open or closed, or opening has become measurably more limited — that is a prompt appointment, not a monitoring situation.
- If your bite has changed recently without dental work, which deserves assessment of the joints.
- If clicking is accompanied by pain or restricted opening. Painless clicking alone is common and usually only warrants review.
Questions patients ask about jaw pain
Will braces fix my jaw pain?
Sometimes, when a specific bite problem is driving the strain — a crossbite forcing the jaw to shift, or a collapsed bite after tooth loss. Orthodontic treatment is not an established general cure for jaw pain, and where the bite is sound, conservative care and a night guard are the better first answer.
Is jaw clicking something to worry about?
Usually not on its own. Painless clicking with normal opening is common and often needs nothing more than review. Clicking with pain, limited opening, or a jaw that catches or locks is worth assessing, and a bite that has recently changed always is.
What helps jaw pain at home?
A period of soft food, moist heat over the muscles, avoiding gum and wide yawning, gentle controlled opening exercises, and attention to sleep and stress. Most muscular jaw pain settles with this. Avoid anything irreversible until conservative measures have had a fair trial.
Does grinding my teeth cause jaw pain?
It is the most common contributor. Sustained clenching overloads the muscles and joints and wears enamel at the same time. A custom night guard protects the teeth and relieves the load, though it manages the consequences rather than stopping the habit itself.
Should I see an orthodontist or my doctor for jaw pain?
Start with whichever you can see soonest — the examination will point the way. An orthodontic assessment establishes whether the bite is contributing. Where it is not, the right care may sit with a physical therapist, an orofacial pain specialist, a sleep physician, or your dentist.