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Overview. 1  A slipped disc in your jaw can cause painful temporomandibular joint (TMJ)-related problems, including a âpoppingâ noise that originates inside the jaw joint. 2  Friction is a massage exercise. 3  The jaw stretching exercise may relieve tension in tight jaw muscles forced out of position.
The jaw joints sit just in front of the ears, where the lower jaw bone meets the skull. In between where these two bones meet is a cartilage disc, which helps the jaw move smoothly. Problems arise when this disc â which is the shape of a baseball cap and the size of a thumbnail â moves out of its usual position. One reason why this happens is prolonged tooth grinding or clenching of the jaw. This makes the jaw muscles sore and they go into spasm, which causes the disc to become displaced. In addition, wear and tear with age can make the joint arthritic, and pieces may break off, again displacing the disc.