Key Takeaways
- Clicking, jaw pain, and not being able to open all the way are common signs of a TMJ problem.
- A quick at-home check: a healthy jaw should open wide enough to fit three fingers.
- Dr. Parsons checks how the jaw tracks and assesses the masseter, temporalis, pterygoid, and digastric muscles.
- Treatment typically runs three times a week for two weeks, followed by a reassessment.
Your jaw works every time you talk, chew, or yawn, so when the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) isn't working right, you feel it. In this video, Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, also known as Dr. P, shares a quick at-home test for jaw opening and walks through how she assesses and treats TMJ problems.
Signs of a TMJ Problem
- Clicking when you open or close your mouth
- Jaw pain
- Not being able to open your mouth all the way
A Quick At-Home Test
Put three fingers together and place them in your mouth. A healthy jaw should open wide enough to fit all three. Dr. Parsons says some patients can only fit two fingers, and some only one, which is a sign the jaw isn't opening the way it should.
How Dr. Parsons Assesses the Jaw
She starts by feeling the joint itself while the patient opens and closes their mouth. She's checking whether the chin tracks down in a straight line or zigzags and shifts to one side.
If there's a problem, she moves on to the muscles that control the jaw, starting with the strongest:
- Masseter: the strongest jaw muscle. Dr. Parsons uses trigger point work, holding sustained pressure to help the muscle release.
- Temporalis: a clamshell-shaped muscle at the side of the head. It's often tender in people who clench, grind, or hold tension in their neck and jaw.
- Pterygoids: the internal and external pterygoid muscles on each side, which she checks from inside the mouth.
- Digastric: the muscle under the jaw, where she feels for lumps, bumps, and spasms.
What Treatment Looks Like
For patients with a known TMJ problem, Dr. Parsons says treatment typically happens every other day, three days a week, for two weeks, followed by a reassessment. Some people need periodic tune-ups, especially after dental work.
Get Your Jaw Checked in Fresno
You use your jaw every time you talk and eat, so any jaw issue is worth checking. If you're dealing with clicking, pain, or trouble opening wide, The Natural Path Health Center can assess whether chiropractic care and muscle work can help. Learn more about our chiropractic care.
Read the full video transcript
Hey everyone, it's Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, founder of the Natural Path Health Center, also called Dr. P. I am here with Alyssa, and we're going to talk about TMJ, also known as the temporomandibular joint. That is this joint here that, every time you talk, every time you yawn, every time you chew, has to work, right? So for some of you, you might be getting clicking. You might be getting pain. You might not be able to open all the way. So there's a quick test that you can do at home. You're going to put your three fingers together (go ahead and do that for me) and you're going to put them in your mouth. Now, she's got a good opening hinge. Go ahead and relax. But some of you, when you come in, can maybe only do two. I've had some of you only do one finger. That's not good. So one of the assessments I do is I want to feel what's happening in the joint. I just place my fingers here, and I have her open and close her jaw. One of the things I'm looking for is: is her chin tracking down in a straight line, or is it zigzagging? Is it shifting one way or the other? I can feel that, and so can she. Go ahead and lie down. So if she did have a problem, the next thing that I'm going to do is start to work on the muscles. I always start on the strongest muscle, and that's the masseter muscle. I go through, I palpate, and I will do trigger point work, where I hold and sustain pressure to try to get that muscle to release. The next muscle I go up to is the temporalis muscle. This is in the shape of a clamshell, and I'll go through here. Especially for those of you who hold your tension in your neck and your jaw, or you clench or you grind, these muscles are going to be yikesy ouchy. The next thing I do is I get one of my flavored gloves (this one happens to be bubblegum), and I'm going to assess inside the mouth. So I'm going to have her open, and I'm going to check both pterygoids, internal and external, on each side. The last thing I check is under the jaw, and I'm checking the digastric muscle. I'm feeling for lumps and bumps and spasms. Now, for those of you who actually have a known temporomandibular joint problem, if you were to come in to see me or a chiropractor, typically what we do is treatment every other day, three days a week, for two weeks, and then we reassess. This might be something that we need to periodically do and update and keep tuned in, especially if you go and have dental work. So if you're having any issue at all, any issue, come in. Let's assess it and see if chiropractic and muscle work can help, because you still have to use your jaw no matter what. You have to talk, you have to eat, you have to chew. Hopefully that's not you, but if it is, I want to see you. Bye.
Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, DC, CCN, DACBN, DACNB
Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, DC, CCN, DACBN, DACNB is a Doctor of Chiropractic, certified clinical nutritionist, and brain wellness expert with 34+ years serving Fresno families at The Natural Path Health Center.
Learn More About Dr. Parsons
