what could be wrong with my jaw?

Go to the dentist and tell him that the balance of your teeth might be off. They will place a carbon paper between your teeth and have you bite down. The areas of the darkest residue indicate that the filling is a little high and it can be ground down. You may have several places which could be misaligning your jaw.
It may be something completely different, but your dentist is the place to start. Hope it is simple, and you have luck.

I went to her, she already did adjustments which weren't helpful, also I uneven filling would effect the bite but won't effect the resting jaw posture

Oh, good one down. Since your jaw is popping I hazard a second guess. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tmj/symptoms-causes/syc-20350941 Try to put your finger on the joint illustrated by the picture. Open and close your mouth and see if your finger can tell if you are on the site of the popping noise. Sometimes that joint becomes mildly dislocated. You could try this or find a chiropractor or physical therapist.
https://petersenpt.com/tmj-home-treatment-remedies#:~:text=Perform%20gentle%20traction%20through%20your,in%20your%20face%20and%20neck.
Some people get this from chewing beef jerky, I only have it once in a while after having my mouth opened too long at the dentist. Other people have it really bad and it gives them headaches.

idk, I tried a couple of tmp excrsises and other things for tmp relief and nothing seems to help, currently im thinking about the possibility of some sort of jaw injury.

@ariza9110)

It sounds like you have have TMJ .. also referred to as TMD.

I am 73 years old and have had TMJ all my life. In my area dentist only offer the bite adjustment as you have already had and a bite guard. The nearest dentist that deals with the problem is several hours away.

The web sites that “gently” has suggested are good. One additional exercise that helps .. and I only found this one because of my neck problems.. is chin tucks. Hold your head straight (with good posture throughout your body).. tuck your chin under and move your head back and then forward and repeat a few times. My therapist suggested I do them in my recliner .. pushing my head gently into the pillow headrest or lying on my back on my bed and gently pushing into my pillow.

On Feb 2 of this year I awakened pushing my right jaw into my pillow very hard. My first thoughts were .. okay my neck seems okay. Then it was time to eat breakfast. Oh my! the pain! As the day progressed my jaw hurt, the muscle that runs down my neck, my shoulders and arm also hurt.. not only on the right side but the left too. My ears hurt and my usual tinnitus was increased and would increase more when I turned my neck. I had not long had a tooth filled and another had a crown. I went to my dentist and all he could do was a bite adjustment and the bite guard. I cannot wear the bite guard.. it makes my jaw hurt worse. I even had an adjustment on it. It helped, but still the jaw hurts.

I have had TMJ long enough on how to get my jaw in place. It does go back into place .. but it keeps slippling back out. I keep doing the exercises and finally 6 months later it is responding. I think my age has a lot to do with some of my problems with my jaws.

My first suggestion seek out a dentist that specializes in TMJ. .. or chiropractor . Meanwhile do the exercises in the link “gently” mentioned. Keep good posture. Eat foods that do not require a lot of chewing. .. overcooked veggies, tender or ground meats .. even down to baby food consistency if necessary.

I hope you feel better soon.

ZeeGee

arizzo910, Bless you. I question if you have developed TMJ also. I have it, and my jaw pops occasionally and I had jaw pain at the onset. I wear a mouth guard at night (the dentist made this from a mold of my teeth) and it helps greatly. I have bruxism (grinding my teeth) at night when I sleep and the mouth guard protects my teeth.

You may want to get a 2nd opinion from another dentist on this.

Blessings & Prayers.....

I was referred to periodontist to have my bite adjusted. That was so all my molars would contact equally when I closed my bite. If your bite is forward, it may not be contacting on back molars. If there are teeth in the middle that are too "tall" because of a filling that is too thick or tooth alignment, it will cause pressure there. When the bite is uneven over a long period, it will start blunting the roots of the teeth that get the most pressure and ultimately that may cause them to loosen. Extra pressure can crack teeth, and lead to crowns and extractions. This is why dentists like to make night guards since so many people grind their teeth at night, and that can lead to jaw pain.

If you have had a whiplash, that injury can throw off the neck which affects the jaw. I have had one, and the left side of my jaw put more pressure so that I was wearing out fillings only on the left side.

The jaw joints have small discs that can get damaged from misalignment. They can catch and cause pain. A physical therapist can probably assess your neck/skull/jaw alignment and perhaps correct it. The first steps are making sure the teeth meet correctly. If your dentist has not addressed it completely, you may want to discuss this or seek a second opinion with another dentist.

We are to avoid giving medical advice here. For some people like me. chiropractors are damgerous….Howevef, i will say, my TMJ was found “incidentally” by MRI and followup with an ENT dr

elisabeth007, just to understand your comment. If I were to say "You might try an orthopedist," would that be medical advice? "
While I respect that a chiropractic adjustment would not advantage you, a dentist or an surgeon might not advantage you either. Your fear of chiropractics might be coloring your judgement of what comprises medical advice. My first post was direct "see your dentist," and that didn't alarm you.
Saying you "might see a dentist" doesn't mean "have all your teeth removed." Saying "you might see a chiropractor" doesn't mean "have a chiropractic adjustment."
I see you as mistaken, but well intentioned.
I'm not so fond of my comment as to excite your fears.

Hello...no medical advice was given. I am pretty cautious about chiropractors too. Had a tough experience once, but that's another thread.
I had to wear a mouth guard for a while at night too. Not fun with other sleep issues!