{"id":2150,"date":"2019-01-31T04:07:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T04:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oxforddentalidahofalls.com\/?p=2150"},"modified":"2025-05-20T18:15:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:15:16","slug":"tmj-anatomy-how-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clinefamilydentistry.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/31\/tmj-anatomy-how-it-works\/","title":{"rendered":"TMJ Anatomy: How it Works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Clicking jaw is a medical term that refers to clicking sound that may be produced when the jaw is opened. You shouldn’t worry about an occasional click of the jaw. This is entirely normal for a highly flexible jaw joint structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Syndrome is a jaw joint disorder that typically causes severe, chronic, and debilitating pain for some individuals and only short-lived pain in others. To have a clear understanding of this disorder, as well as how to protect yourself from it, it is important to understand the anatomy of the TMJ itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TMJ is commonly known as the jaw joint. It is bi-arthrodial hinge joint that facilitates the complex movements necessary for eating, swallowing, speaking, and yawning. Located anteriorly to the ear tragus, on the lateral aspect of the face, the TMJ is the most complex joint in your body, and you’ve got two of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One joint is on the right side and the other on the left. They work in tandem to facilitate movement of the lower jaw, technically known as the mandible. The TMJ is the only joint you have in your body that is designed to be both stable and unstable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Namely, it\u2019s the only joint that comes off its socket during a function. Its main components are the joint capsule, mandibular condyles, articular disc, the temporal bone\u2019s articular surface, temporomandibular ligament, sphenomandibular ligament, stylomandibular ligament, and lateral pterygoid muscle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the TMJ Works<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The temporomandibular joint works in two ways to facilitate the various functions of your mouth, as explained below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n