Is Jaw Pain ever Tooth Related?
Consistent and frequent pain or clicks in your jaw can be excruciating. Can they be related to the health of your teeth, or your dental hygiene? The short answer is yes, frequently there is a link between dental health and your jaw or temporomandibular joint structure. However, you should make an appointment and have it looked at, because it is not uncommon for TMJ pain to be severe and feel like dental pain.
What is TMJ?
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the structure that connects your jaw to your skull on either side of your face. If you here clicks or feel sensation when using the full range of motion with your jaw, you maybe be experiencing a TMJ disorder. TMJ acts as a joint to operate your jaw when speaking, chewing, swallowing, and speaking. TMJ pain can be severe or mild, and the pain often follows from the source of infection or damage up to the ear; where the joint connects.
TMJ disorders can be due to bone density issues, like arthritis or osteoporosis. It can also be due to stress, as in the case of tooth grinding or bruxism. However, it can commonly be attributed to complications from dental infections which find their way deep into the root and jaw structure of your teeth. Every patient is different, and you will need to rely on your care team to identify your own root causes.
Is my Pain due to Dental disorders or TMJ disorders?
It is difficult to tell because of the unique association between the two. The deep rooted pain of TMJ can feel as though it is located around a tooth. The pain may have nothing to do with the tooth, and may be related to the joint itself or the underlying bone structure.
On the same note, the pain you feel in your jaw up to your ear could also be due to a deeply rooted infection. Dental infections can enter through cavities or vulnerabilities in the gum and find their way into the jaw and bone structure of the TMJ. If you have missing teeth, a history of dental infections, or a history of dental work, you may also experience TMJ pain as a result. Missing or unstable teeth create problems for the ergonomics of chewing and eating. Over time this imbalance in force can cause pain which radiates throughout the jaw, making the TMJ unstable.
What can you do?
The nature of these problems are compound and interrelated. Pain in your jaw can lead to dental pain, and vice versa. The only way to know for sure what the root cause is, is to make an appointment with your dentist and care team. Discuss your symptoms, take x-rays and scans, and have them give you a full examination. If there are no signs of infection or cavities, it is safe to assume there is a problem in the jaw. If there are signs of infection or cavities, follow the advice of your dentist and invest time in your dental hygiene to avoid extraction.