this happened to me when i was twenty-one years old, i won't say what caused this to happen, but it was not my yawning.i went to the er in phoenix az and the doc there fixed it in about five minutes by gently lifting and pulling my jaw forward and up at thesame time,it happened again afew years later and i was able to to fix it myself. it did not hurt but it was a wierd feeling not to be able to close my mouth.

It has happened to me on occasion thru out my life. Back in the mid 50's when I was very, very young, my mom would take me to a dentist who would force my jaw open to inspect my teeth. Years later I was told that the damage done caused my TMJ and that he was likely dislocating my jaw.

Poor girl, lol. I can't imagine how that felt. At least her mouth's okay now. :P

The same thing happened to me my freshman year. I had 8 years of extensive orthodontic procedures because i had a condition on my jaw being a bit long in the front. All of the years of repairing messed me up and i yawned one time and it got stuck. It was so painful and i drooled a lot. The dentist just did a little maneuver and fixed! I never yawn so big again... -_-'

This has happened to me many a time thru out my life. When I was about 4 or 5 years, the dentist my mom took me to would over extend the drop of my jaw to look into my mouth. Many years later I was diagnosed with a very bad case of TMJ and the dental specialist said the xrays of my jaw indicated that the dentist had been dislocating and damaging my jaw. And yes, it would lock up on a big yawn or the chewing of tough meat!

I too have had this happen, twice, it's a horrible, scarey situation. My orthodondist in the 60's caused my TMJ then in my 30's when my jaw dislocated, the dentist gave me shots in my face to relax the muscles, then pushed down and back to relocate it. Happened one other time, after that, I eat no raw carrots or hard candies etc any food item that will cause excessive chewing and I have been lucky to avoid another incident.

I believe it is much more common than suggested. I went thorugh the same, but required injections of muscle relaxer into my face to get the release. Same happened with my shoulder too, where my head canted down into my raised shoulder, and the doctors confirmed that both instances were likely caused by an ear infection at the onset. In niether case was I treated for any ear infection however.

I weight trained early on in my life, and often felt the pulse of my blood pressures in my ears. I bet that had much more to do with it all. I got the same sensation in both cases of tensor.

I think its TMJ syndrome. I have had symptoms, and somehow adapted.

I had this happen while at boot camp. I had been to the base doctor, got back to the barracks before the rest of the platoon and yawned. I heard a small pop and my mouth was stuck open. I messed around with my chin and lower jaw until it snapped back and closed. It was freaky and I was scared about it, too! Even now, 26 years later, I have to be careful not to open my mouth too far when I yawn so it doesn't happen again. I've had some close calls though.

I feel for that girl. BTDT.

this happened to my daughter several years ago at age 13. She had grown almost 12" in one year and when she yawned her mouth stuck open. I took her to the best oral/maxi surgeon in Indiana and he reset her jaw in about 5 minutes. He did say that there is a small disc, if you will, between the upper and lower jaw bone that didn't stretch nornally as it should have due to her growth spurt. It happened again several weeks later and the dr. wired her mouth shut for six weeks to give it time to heal and she's been fine ever since.

this happened to my daughter several years ago at age 13. I took her to the best oral/maxi surgeon in Indiana who reset her jaw in about 5 minutes. My daughter was going thru a growth spurt and ended up growing almost 12" in one year. The dr. told me that there is a small disc, if you will, between her upper and lower jaw bones that didnt' stretch as it should have during her growth spurt. It happened again several weeks later and the dr. wired her mouth shut for six weeks so that it could heal. She's thiry now and fine, but she doesn't over stretch her mouth anymore!!!

My jaw locked shut for 3 months! And this made news!! Stupid.

IGNORANT people. I had my jaw lock "open" often, when laughing, eating, yawning, etc. It was caused by TMJ, and malocclusion of my teeth, which is NOT caused by a dentist. I had chronic facial pain, also. My dentist told my parents when I was a pre-teen that I would need surgery on my jaw, eventually. I learned to use relaxation techniques (another use for Lamaz) to "unhinge" it, and that usually worked. When I was in my early 30's, my jaw locked open for almost half an hour, during a George Carlin concert. At that time, I decided it was time to get it fixed. I had braces put on my teeth, which immediately corrected the facial pain, and had surgery on my jaw about a year and a half later. My jaw was wired for about 8 weeks, and now, 20 years later, all is still going fine. I can't believe how the media is allowed to sensationalize every little aspect of life...how sad!

What she needs to do is go to a Chiropractor. I have had TMJ for years and my Chiropractor takes care of the problem. I also worked for this wonderful Chiropractor for 12 years and have been a Chiropractic patient since I was a child.

I wake up this way every morning (and, no, not because of that, you pervs)...

It's a symptom of my TMJ syndrome.  It's fairly common.  The first time I had my jaw stuck open I was 20 and working at a retirement home as a front desk clerk.  It wasn't pretty and it freaked me out!  I went home and laid down.  Eventually I relaxed enough that I was able to close it again.

I'd say that this is scary, but nothing to make national news.

jeez Marsha, no need to call people names! who here exactly is ignorant anyway? the many, many other people relating to this story, or the people who wrote it? i've never heard of this happening before. it's interesting to see so many people have the same experience. if this article is so stupid, why did you read it? and then take the time to comment on it? it only takes a minute to read anyway. i guess i'm just trying to say LIGHTEN UP.

I assume I have the same TMJ, sometimes when I yawn I have to open my mouth and then move my jaw over a little to be able to open it wider to get the full yawn out, otherwise I will hear a loud pop and not be able to close my mouth unless I wiggle my jaw around and it will pop back. Was scary the first time it happened, not so much anymore.

Wow this is the first time I've seen anything like this! I'm sure that's gotta be scary! TMJ is news to me. I feel sorry for anybody that has this. Kinda funny though in a sad way....

If her mouth stayed open I bet her boyfriend would recieve endless sessions of oral sex!!

If her mouth never shut I bet her boyfriend would recieve endless sessions of oral sex!!!

I'm sure this is just some cover up story, because I live in England and what she was really doing when her jaw stayed shut is hard to swallow, if you catch my stream, I-I mean drift..

I feel this article is poorly written and rude in assuming that the lecture was in fact boring in general. The topic is not even mentioned. Congrats to the writer for getting paid for nothing.

TMJ- it can happen anytime, you can hear the crunch often when you open and close. My dentist has a heck of a time working on my back teeth. My first kiss with my husband knocked it out. Sleeping on one side can knock it out. This girl apparently had both sides go out at same time. That only happened once to me at the dentist and he freaked..... manipulated it back between the both of us trying. OUCH!! It really helps if you are aware of the condition and your limits.... no 3 decker sandwiches.

imagined if this happened on a date. How embarrassing. Now I have another fear in social situations..