Jaw pain can be devastating. You can't smile, you can't eat and you can't speak. It's terrible. It can start with an accident,a long dental visit,or without any reason. When the pain begins suddenly it's called acute. When the pain persists and doesn't go away, it's called chronic. The discomfort causes the jaw muscles to tighten and hold the jaw in one place to protect it. Unfortunately, the muscles then go into spasm, become inflamed and cause more pain.
Jaw muscle exercises can be helpful because they bring blood to the tight jaw muscles that often cause this jaw joint pain. Because patients with jaw pain can't chew easily, many of these patients do not eat much. This decreases their strength and causes more pain. The resulting pain then causes more muscle tightening and so more pain. It's a vicious cycle.
Placing moist hot hand towels over both sides of the jaws can help the pain. Fill up a sink with hot water and place the towels in the sink then wring them out. Be sure the water is not hot enough to burn you. After a few minutes, stretch your jaw muscles by opening and closing as wide and you can. The movement, and the heat, help bring nourishing blood to the jaw muscles with the jaw pain and take away the waste products that have built up which cause pain in the jaw muscles.
Gentle massage can help. Rub the muscles experiencing jaw pain on the outside of your face and then place your thumb or forefinger inside the mouth and the other finger outside the mouth. Gently sweeze the jaw muscles between your two fingers and rub the jaw muscles from inside and outside the mouth until the pain subsides.
You can also fill your bathtub up with hot water and immerse yourself almost totally in the hot water so that your entire face is covered with warm water. This can often help the patient sleep better. The total relaxation effect of the warm water helps relax the muscles experiencing the jaw pain.
Motrin and Nuprin are the best over-the-counter analgesics for jaw pain. However, they do not solve the problem of why your jaw muscles are hurting and only mask the symptoms. They don't cure the reason that you are having pain. Many patients do not want to bother to actually fix their pain problem and prefer taking prescription drugs to reduce the discomfort . This is a dangerous situtation and an ethical dentist will avoid these types of patients.
It is important for patients with jaw pain to remember to stay healthy and eat properly. There are many causes of pain and that's why it is so difficult for many doctors to diagnose the cause. One cause is a vitamin deficiency, like Vitamin C or Vitamin E. Pain can even be caused by a mineral deficiency in magnesium,calcium ,or any of the other necessary minerals. Keep your mind off of your pain and on something positive. Don't worry your relatives. Don't complain; instead,do something about it.
Some patients with have clicking and popping inside their jaw joints. The shock absorbing disc inside the jaw joint has come out of place and is now flopping around. This displaced disc is probably the cause of the problem. Visiting a dentist knowledgeable is essential. The dentist can often make a dental appliance that will help support your jaw without the need for your overworked jaw muscles to do this. The dentist can refer you to a physical therapist trained in treating TMJ or to massage therapist who can help you relax your jaw muscles and reduce your pain. At the Atlanta Dental Group PC our dentists construct a soft appliance and also place our patients on a pain managment program.
Jaw pain is usually managed, not cured. However, some patients do later choose to receive extensive dental treatment to change their bites. This is a person choice and often has a lot to do with the personality of the pateint experiencing the pain and the background and training of the dentist treating the patient.
Insurance companies often refuse to pay for this treatment. The medical insurance company says that its dental in origin and is not a medical problem. The dental insurance company says that the pain comes from a joint and all joint problems are medical problems. No one wants to pay for the treatment and so the patient continues to suffer. The poor dentist who feels sympathy for patients often gets trapped between the patient and the insurance companies. The dentist can not win. So many dentists now refuse to treat pain patients or they ask these patients to pay for their own treatment and then try to get reimbursed by their insurance for the jaw pain treatment. If you are experiencing jaw pain and would like to visit with Dr. Padolsky, call 404-874-7428 to make an appointment.