6 Dental causes of jaw pain
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
It is really hard to encounter the pain in the jaw and facial muscles. As they have diverse connections with the mouth, any obstacle in jawbone obstructs the mouth activity like chewing, eating and even opening your mouth.
If you have experienced a pain in the jawbone, you will agree to the above point. The degree of pain varies depending on the cause and it triggers various difficulties like dizziness, burning sensation, toothache, etc.
Jaw pain is triggered by different factors and they are related to blood vessel problems, nerve issues, etc. Hence home remedies and painkillers are not effective to get rid of such pain in your jaw.
You need to visit your dentist to diagnose the cause of the pain.
The Dental Health Professionals of our Sendhil Dental Clinic have listed common factors that induce immense pain in the jawbone.
1. TMJ disorder
Temporomandibular Joint is a thing which connects jawbone to the skull. This joint is present in both sides of our skull. Any infection or syndrome in this joint persuade jaw pain.
TMJ Syndrome empowers the sufferer to encounter various difficulties like locking of the jaw, jaw stiffness, chronic headache, popping sound when open and close your mouth, and much more.
2. Impacted Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth, also known as third molar teeth erupt in the age range between 17 and 20. When they begin to develop, the teeth cannot get sufficient room or space in the jaw. This leads them to develop at abnormal positions and present beneath the gum line. Hence they get trapped between the nearby teeth.
When the wisdom teeth get trapped or impacted, it causes severe pain in the jaw followed by selling in your jaw. Extracting those teeth is the only thing to cure jaw pain triggered by impacted third molar teeth.
3. Teeth Grinding
Bruxism (i.e.) Grinding your teeth is a prevalent habit seen among many people. If your one of them, then you are going to suffer from severe jaw pain.
The frequent movements that occur while grinding your teeth disrupt the tendon, ligaments, muscles and other tissues associated with your jawbone. Such disruption provokes severe pain in the jaw.
Get mouth guards from a Dental Health Specialist to safeguard your teeth. This will be helpful in preventing certain consequences like wear down the teeth enamel caused due to grinding your teeth.
Researches show that stress and anger are the base reasons which make many people grind their teeth. Embark actions and do things to relax.
4. Gum Diseases
Bacteria present in our mouth are responsible for various gum diseases like Gingivitis, Periodontitis. They are identified by red, swollen gums. Similarly, the gums begin to bleed often.
The infection in the gum lines begins to spread to the jaw region. It is followed by producing pain in the jaw.
5. Decayed Tooth
Similar to gum infection, dental caries which makes the teeth to decay also cause jaw pain.
In cases, if a decayed tooth is left untreated, the infection penetrates the interior parts of the tooth like dentin, pulp and even tooth root. Then the cavity is proliferated to the jaw bone. When the jaw bone gets infected, then it causes severe pain.
6. Underbite or Overbite
Your jaw cannot function efficiently if it has misaligned dentition like overbite (upper dentition protrudes over the lower dentition) or Underbite (lower dentition protrudes over the upper dentition).
Such uneven bite in your jaw causes pain in the jawbone and its associated joints.
Besides the oral causes, jaw dislocation, trauma or injury in the jaw and other health relates causes like sinus infection, arthritis, trigeminal neuralgia and many others are also lead to pain in the jaw and facial muscles.
