Long before it locks, the jaw sends warnings. What are those?

One morning in August last year, Rupal Shah (name changed) woke up with a sudden lockjaw that scared her out of her wits. Despite hot fomentation, her jaws wouldn’t open a centimetre. “I couldn’t eat, and had to drink hot coffee using a straw,’’ recalls the 45-year-old economics professor. What seemed like a sudden crisis was, in fact, the result of a joint disorder that doctors say had likely been progressing for a decade or more.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sits on both sides of the face, and acts as the hinge connecting the jawbone to the skull. It is essential for talking, chewing, yawning and swallowing. When this joint, or the muscles and ligaments around it, stops functioning properly, the result is a temporomandibular disorder (TMD).