On Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:10:12 -0400, Goomba >
wrote:

>Julie Bove wrote:
>> "sf" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:24:44 -0400, "Jean B." > wrote:
>>>
>>>> he told me it was TMJ
>>> TMJ?
>>
>> Why has nobody heard of this? It has been on the radio, TV and in magazines
>> since...like...the 70's? That's the first I heard of it. Could have been
>> before that.
>>
>> http://www.colgate.com/app/CP/US/EN/...ockjaw_&kw=tmj
>>
>I've heard of it. For a few years it seemed to be the disorder du jour.
>Burt Reynolds had it and everyone and their uncle thought he had AIDS
>years ago.
>Some people have minds like sieves (ObCooking, sort of) for random bits
>of information if it doesn't affect them personally. I know, I know,
>hard to imagine.

Thank you for the link. I've never heard of it in my entire, well read
life, but then, I haven't heard of hundreds, (maybe thousands), of
other obscure medical conditions, so it's not unusual to have not
heard about this one.

From your link:

Dislocation of the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ)

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is located just in front of the
lower part of the ear. This joint allows the lower jaw to move. It is
a ball-and-socket joint, just like the hip or shoulder. When the mouth
opens wide, the ball (called the condyle) comes out of the socket and
moves forward. It goes back into place when the mouth closes.

The TMJ becomes dislocated when the condyle moves too far. Then, it
can get stuck in front of a section of bone called the articular
eminence. The condyle can't move back into place. This happens most
often when the ligaments that normally keep the condyle in place are
somewhat loose. The surrounding muscles often go into spasm and hold
the condyle in the dislocated position.