Help, my jaw hurts really bad!?!
Question: Help, my jaw hurts really bad!.?
I recently went to the dentist to get a night guard made because I have TMJ. I also needed a crown. The dentist put on a temporary crown & it is significantly shorter then my original tooth. I have only been chewing on one side of my mouth (the side without the temporary crown) because the temporary crown fell out once & had to be put back on. I have awful pain on one side of my jaw (the side without the crown). I'm wondering if the fact that the temporary crown is smaller then my original tooth has caused my entire mount/jaw to be out of line & causing me so much pain, plus the fact that I have only been chewing on one side of my mouth. I go back to the dentist tomorrow to get the permanent crown & pick up my night guard. Any ideas what could be causing all this pain.?Health Question & Answer
Answers:
I am a registered massage therapist that has worked on many TMJ cases. Most often they are caused by an imbalance of the muscular or tooth structure in the mouth. The fact that you are getting more complex dental work done will definatley affect your jaw, not only because of the change of the hard tissue structure but also because you are having to sit there for extended periods of time with someones hands on your mouth and that has significant affects on the muscles that hold your jaw together. When you see your dentist again, make him/her aware of the problems you have been having and they might take extra precaution to let your law rest during the procedure. After the work is done, you need to put ice on your jaw. After a few days, I would recommend doing some self massage to the exterior of your jaw. If you have someone in your area that is trained to provide such a therapeutic massage, then you should go and get an intraoral massage. I have had much success with my clients with this, and even when there doctor said thay would never eat another steak again.
Which brings me to my last point of just being careful what you eat for a bit. No gum chewing!! anything that you feel makes your jaw muscles work too much to chew you should stay away from for a bit until your jaw is healing. Hope this helps.Health Question & Answer
Which brings me to my last point of just being careful what you eat for a bit. No gum chewing!! anything that you feel makes your jaw muscles work too much to chew you should stay away from for a bit until your jaw is healing. Hope this helps.Health Question & Answer