Jaw Pain
Jaw pain is a symptom of a wide variety of dental and medical problems, from grinding one’s teeth at night to ear infections and even heart disease. If you are experiencing jaw pain, whether it is acute (sudden) or chronic (long-lasting), you should have it evaluated right away. Not only can your dentist and doctor help you determine the cause of your jaw pain, they will likely be able to offer guidance and even treatments to help resolve it.
What are some of the dental causes of jaw pain?
While not all causes of jaw pain start in the mouth, enough do that it’s not a bad idea to start with a visit to your dentist to rule out any causes that she or he can help you with (if you start to experience jaw pain in your lower left jaw only, however, you should call 911 right away, as this can be a sign of heart attack, especially among women).
Some of the most common causes of jaw pain that your dentist can diagnose and treat include abscesses that have formed as a result of an infected tooth or gums; grinding one’s teeth at night; a poorly aligned bite pattern, or Tempromandibular Disorder (TMD).
All of these causes of jaw pain have different treatments. Jaw pain that is due to infection is best treated with a antibiotics and possibly a root canal, which is a procedure during which your dentist removes the damaged tissue resulting from infection and decay, fills it with a composite resin material, and then places a crown over the tooth to protect the area from further damage. In the case of tooth grinding, your dentist will likely recommend a mouth guard to be worn at mouth; these can be custom-made just for you and fit quite comfortably over the top of your teeth while you sleep. A poorly aligned bite pattern might require more extensive intervention, such as braces, while TMD might require a multi-tiered treatment approach including medications, mouth guards, and physical therapy.
What are some of the medical causes of jaw pain?
If a visit to your dentist doesn’t result in any answers, it might be time for a visit to your primary care doctor, who will check for other kinds of infection, overuse, or other underlying conditions that might be causing jaw pain.
Two of the infections most commonly associated with jaw pain are sinus infections and ear infections, both of which occur in close enough proximity to the jaw to create what is known as referred pain. Both can also contribute to increased pressure in the sinus cavities and eustachian tubes, which can either cause jaw pain or pain that may be experienced as such.
Simple overuse of the jaw might also be a contributing factor to jaw pain. In this case, rest is usually what the doctor ordered. But what may first appear to be a case of overuse could also be a more serious joint disorder such as osteoarthritis, which is why it is important to be evaluated by your doctor to rule out this or other underlying conditions.
In short, if you are suffering from a sore or aching jaw, please set up an appointment with your dentist and doctor to get to the root of the problem. With their help, not only will you get answers, you’ll likely soon be on the road to recovery.