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National Institutes of Health
Jaw Injuries and Disorders
Your jaw is a set of bones that holds your teeth. It consists of two main parts. The upper part is the maxilla. It doesn't move. The moveable lower part is called the mandible. You move it when you talk or chew. The two halves of the mandible meet at your chin. The joint where the mandible meets your skull is the temporomandibular joint.
Jaw problems include
- Fractures
- Dislocations
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
- Osteonecrosis, which happens when your bones lose their blood supply
- Cancers
Treatment of jaw problems depends on the cause.
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Start Here
- Orofacial Pain(Academy of General Dentistry)
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
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Learn More
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Multimedia & Cool Tools
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For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
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Reference Shelf
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For You
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For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
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Jaw Pain
(American Dental Association)
- Panoramic Dental X-ray(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America)
- Also available in Spanish
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Jaw Pain
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Treatment
- Alveoplasty(Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine)
- Bone Augmentation and Nerve Repositioning(Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine)
- Chin augmentation - slideshow
- Also available in Spanish
- Corrective Jaw Surgery(American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons)
- Treating and Preventing Facial Injury(American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons)
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Specific Conditions
- Broken Jaw(InteliHealth, Harvard Medical School)
- Difficulty Chewing(American Society of Clinical Oncology)
- Jaw Dislocation(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Jaw Fracture(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Malocclusion(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome(American Society of Clinical Oncology)
- Oral Cysts(Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine)
- Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ)(American College of Rheumatology)
- Osteoporosis and Your Jaw (Oral Health)(Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine)
- Tori(Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine)
- Trismus(Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine)
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Related Issues
- Bruxism/Teeth Grinding(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Health Check Tools
- Jaw Injury(DSHI Systems)
- Jaw Pain(DSHI Systems)
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Jaw(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Jaw Diseases(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Jaw Fractures(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Mandibular Diseases(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Mandibular Injuries(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Jaw
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Genetics
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Genetics Home Reference: Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome(National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: The relationship between temporomandibular joint ankylosis and condylar fractures.
- Article: Three-dimensional stereophotogrammetric method of quantifying the effect of botulinum toxin...
- Article: A piece of my mind. How I ended up watching...
- Jaw Injuries and Disorders -- see more articles
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Directories
- Find a Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon(American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery)
- Find a Plastic Surgeon(American Society of Plastic Surgeons)
- Find an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon(American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons)
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Organizations
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Patient Handouts
- Jaw - broken or dislocated
- Also available in Spanish
- Malocclusion of teeth
- Also available in Spanish
- Micrognathia
- Also available in Spanish
- Prognathism
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
