The jaw clicks are honestly more common than people think, especially right after wisdom teeth removal. Mine stuck around for a few months—felt weird every time I yawned or tried to eat something bigger than a spoonful of pudding. Eventually it faded, but it took some gentle jaw stretches and patience. Totally get you on the food thing too... I remember just wanting to bite into an apple again. Those first days are rough, but it does get better, promise.
Jaw clicking after wisdom teeth removal is such a weird sensation—mine lingered for a while too, especially when I’d try to chew something even slightly firm. Did you ever notice it getting worse at certain times of day? For me, mornings were rough until I started doing those gentle stretches. I found that icing helped with swelling but didn’t do much for the clicking itself. Curious if anyone’s oral surgeon actually recommended specific jaw exercises or if most people just improvised...
I’ve seen a lot of people swear by ice packs, but honestly, I didn’t get much relief from them after my wisdom teeth came out. Swelling, sure, but for the jaw clicking? That stuck around no matter how much I iced. Actually, I wonder if icing even does anything for the joint itself, or if it just numbs the area a bit. Did anyone else feel like the cold made their jaw stiffer?
As for the clicking, mine was worse in the evenings, not mornings. Maybe because I’d been talking more or trying to eat “real” food by then? I actually got a handout from my ortho with some specific jaw stretches—stuff like slowly opening and closing my mouth with my tongue on the roof, and gentle side-to-side movements. They warned me not to push through pain, which was good advice since I definitely made it worse one day trying to “stretch it out” too aggressively.
To be honest, I don’t totally buy into the idea of just improvising exercises. The jaw is a weird joint and I feel like you can mess it up if you guess wrong. Did your oral surgeon give you any actual instructions, or just say “take it easy”? Mine was super specific and said to avoid chewy foods for at least two weeks, which felt excessive at the time but probably helped. I’m curious if people who improvised had longer issues with clicking or tightness.
Also, did anyone notice their bite feeling off after the swelling went down? That threw me way more than the clicking did.
I actually found the ice packs helped a bit, but only for the swelling and that throbbing ache—not so much for the jaw clicking either. In fact, I noticed if I kept the cold on too long, my jaw felt tighter and almost harder to move. Funny you mention the stretches; my oral surgeon was more on the “take it easy” side, but I wish I’d gotten more guidance. I tried looking up exercises myself and probably overdid it a couple times... jaw definitely got more sore. My bite felt weird for weeks after, like my teeth didn’t fit together right anymore. It did settle down, but it was unsettling for a while.
I noticed if I kept the cold on too long, my jaw felt tighter and almost harder to move.
Classic case of “too much of a good thing,” right? I’ve seen folks go from chipmunk cheeks to “frozen jaw” real quick when they overdo it with the ice. Honestly, I’ve always told people to treat ice packs like spicy salsa—great in moderation, but don’t go wild. Did you ever try warm compresses after the first couple days? Some people swear by switching it up once the swelling’s gone down, but I know not everyone gets the green light for that.
