For such ailments as these, doctors may prescribe hot and cold packs, diathermy, massage vibration, rest, surgery, psychological treatment or drugs. While all of these remedies are useful at times, they often do not bring permanent relief if stress in the joint is the real cause of the trouble.

When the cause is stress in this joint in front of the ear, as it often is, a safe and highly successful dental treatment may be the solution. This treatment is known as "equilibration" (pronounced ee-quil-i-bray-shun); it simply means equalizing the muscle forces to restore the lower jaw and its joints to their normal unstrained or neutral positions.

How do the joints get out of adjustment in the first place? It might be from a blow on the chin, a muscle spasm, or opening the jaw too wide (as when biting or yawning). But the most common is chewing with teeth that come together in a wrong way.

Dentists refer to this condition as "malocclusion."