Why does my jaw click, and how do I stop it?

You yawn, take a bite of an apple or just open wide, and there it is again: a click right in front of your ear. Sometimes you feel it more than you hear it, and sometimes the person next to you hears it too. It is easy to start wondering whether something is wearing out in there.

You are in good company, because jaw clicking is one of the most common things people bring to a jaw assessment. Below I explain what actually makes the sound, how to tell a harmless click from one worth checking, and the slow opening exercise I show in my reel, with two more you can add.

In short

A jaw that clicks without pain and moves freely is common and considered normal, and it does not need treatment (NIDCR, 2026). The click usually comes from a small cartilage disc in the joint slipping back into place as you open. Pain, catching or a jaw that will not open fully are reasons to get it checked.

• Most clicking comes from disc displacement with reduction, which in follow-up studies usually stayed stable and painless.
• Opening slowly and in a straight line, with your tongue on the roof of your mouth, is the exercise I use most for clicking jaws.
• A jaw that suddenly locks open or shut needs urgent help.

Why does my jaw click when I open my mouth?

Each jaw joint sits just in front of your ear, and between the jawbone and the skull lies a small disc of cartilage. In disc displacement with reduction, the disc sits slightly forward of where it should be while your mouth is closed. As you open, it slips back over the head of the jawbone, and as you close it slips off again. That movement can make a click, snap or pop on opening and on closing (Poluha et al., 2019).

The NIDCR lists disc disorders as one of the three broad groups of jaw problems, alongside muscle problems and headaches linked to the jaw (NIDCR, 2026). The international Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) diagnose disc displacement with reduction when you report jaw noises in the last 30 days and an examiner can feel a click during opening and closing, or during opening or closing plus a side-to-side or forward movement (Schiffman et al., 2014; Poluha et al., 2019).

Why opening to one side matters

When a jaw clicks on a wide opening, I very often see the chin drift a little to one side on the way down. One joint moves ahead of the other, and that seems to make it easier for the disc on that side to slip and pop back. This is my explanation from practice rather than something research has proven, but it is the reason the exercise below focuses on opening slower and straighter.

Is jaw clicking normal?

Yes, in most cases. The NIDCR states clearly that clicking or popping sounds without pain are common, are considered normal and do not require treatment (NIDCR, 2026). A review of disc displacement with reduction describes it as one of the most common joint findings and notes that it can be found in about a third of people who have no symptoms at all (Poluha et al., 2019).

The same review explains that the joint usually adapts well and painlessly to a disc that sits a little forward, and that long-term studies show a favourable course for most people, without pain or locking (Poluha et al., 2019). Your bite is also less to blame than many people think. The NIDCR says research does not support the idea that a bad bite or braces cause jaw disorders (NIDCR, 2026). If you also clench or grind, our page on teeth grinding explains that side of things.

Will my jaw clicking get worse over time?

For most people it stays the same. In one study described in the review, 24 people with untreated clicking were followed for about two years, and their jaw movement stayed the same while the clicking did not turn into locking in most of them (Poluha et al., 2019). In an older three-year study of 70 people with clicking, the click stayed unchanged in 71 per cent and disappeared in 29 per cent, and locking developed in 9 per cent (Poluha et al., 2019).

The sign to watch is catching. According to the review, reports of the jaw getting stuck now and then suggest the disc is losing its ability to slip back into place, although this rarely leads to a permanently locked jaw (Poluha et al., 2019). Whether jaw problems settle by themselves is covered in can TMJ go away on its own?

Try it: slow opening with your tongue on the roof of your mouth

This is the exercise from my video. It trains your jaw to open slowly and in a straight line, which in my experience helps when one side tends to run ahead.

1. Sit or stand in front of a mirror.
2. Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, just behind your upper front teeth.
3. Keep your tongue there and open your mouth slowly.
4. Stop as soon as your tongue wants to come off the roof of your mouth, then close again.
5. Watch in the mirror that your chin stays in the middle the whole time.
6. Repeat five times.

The opening will feel small at first, and that is fine. Some people notice the click getting quieter after a few days of practice. I can't promise you that, and the small studies on jaw exercises measured changes over three to six months rather than days (Poluha et al., 2019). Even if the click stays, a painless click is nothing to worry about.

Two more exercises for a clicking jaw

Mirror midline opening with fingertips on both joints. Rest one fingertip on each jaw joint, just in front of your ears. Open slowly in front of the mirror and feel whether one side moves ahead of the other. Keep your chin on the midline of your face, stop before the click and close again. Do this five to ten times.

Rest position. Between meals, let your lips touch lightly, keep your teeth apart and let your tongue rest softly on the roof of your mouth. The NHS advises that your teeth should be apart except when eating (NHS). Check it several times a day.

Stop any exercise if it causes pain, if your jaw catches or locks, or if you have trouble closing your mouth afterwards. In the app, the onboarding asks about the intensity and side of your clicking, and the micro programme for jaw clicking shows each exercise in a guided video from the front and the side.

What helps when your jaw clicks?

There is still no gold standard treatment for jaw clicking. When the noise bothers someone enough to seek help, conservative care comes first: explaining what the click means, advice to avoid opening extremely wide, exercises, relaxation and sometimes a splint (Poluha et al., 2019). In small studies, jaw exercises against light resistance or forward-and-back movements were followed by less clicking after three to six months, but these groups were small and not all had a comparison group (Poluha et al., 2019).

In the moment

The NHS suggests soft food for a while, avoiding chewing gum and pen tops, cutting food so you do not bite with your front teeth and not yawning too wide. Gently massaging the jaw muscles and an ice pack or heat pack wrapped in a tea towel, whichever feels better, can ease soreness (NHS).

Long term

Keep the tongue-on-the-roof opening as a daily habit and pair it with the rest position. The NIDCR also recommends cutting down on clenching, gum chewing and nail biting (NIDCR, 2026). In the app, you can measure how far you open in millimetres with the front camera at the start, and use daily check-ins to track how your jaw feels over the weeks. More routines are on our TMJ exercises page.

How JawBuddy helps

JawBuddy is a digital companion for guided jaw exercises and self-management. JawBuddy Therapy builds your personal plan with a therapeutic algorithm based on your symptoms and medical history, and it has micro programmes for acute complaints such as jaw clicking, alongside more than 300 exercises and a daily tooth contact check.

The app does not replace emergency care or an individual diagnosis from a qualified healthcare professional. If you want to try the routine above with guided videos, download the app on the App Store or Google Play.

When should you see a doctor?

Ask for an urgent GP appointment, contact NHS 111 or see your dentist the same day if:

• your jaw suddenly locks and you cannot open your mouth, or it gets stuck open and you cannot close it,
• you are unable to eat or drink, find it hard to open your mouth fully, or have pain around your jaw, ear or the side of your head (NHS),
• the clicking started after a blow to your face, or your jaw is swollen and you have a fever. This last point is my advice as a physiotherapist.

Book an appointment with your dentist or GP soon if:

• the clicking is painful (NIDCR, 2026),
• your jaw catches now and then or feels stiff (NIDCR, 2026).

A dentist or physiotherapist can feel the joint, measure your opening and decide whether imaging is useful. Our jaw pain page helps if pain is part of the picture.

A click on its own is rarely a problem

A clicking jaw can sound alarming, but on its own it is usually a sign of a joint that has adapted well. Start with the slow, straight opening in front of the mirror this week, and pay attention to pain and catching rather than the sound itself.

For the bigger picture, read our TMJ disorder guide.