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How to examine the temporomandibular joint

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPA
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Jaw pain, clicking and headaches can come from the temporomandibular joint.

Step by step

  1. Look

    Symmetry, swelling, how wide the mouth opens. [1]

  2. Feel

    Fingers in front of the ears while the patient opens and closes. [1]

  3. Opening

    About three finger widths is normal; note pain and deviation. [1]

  4. Clicks

    Clicking or grating. [1]

  5. Muscles

    Masseter and temporalis tenderness. [1]

  6. Other causes

    Teeth, ears, and jaw claudication in older adults. [2]

Common errors

Practice it in Making Synapses

In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

Making Synapses cases that train this skill

8 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam)
  2. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
  3. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.