General jaw pain in the area you are describing is fairly common.


People with poorly aligned teeth or people who grind their teeth overnight suffer from this condition regularly. It can also happen as a result of a bland force injury to the jaw or any stress.


Since you are having troiuble opening your mouth and therefore most likely eating you should have it checked out asap.


A dentist is your best starting point. If you require corrective action most dentists will refer you to a specialist.



Mike

Thanks for the reply mike my teeth are aligned correctly (thanks to 2 years of braces) but I have been told that I grind my teeth at night. I've woken up in the morning before with a sore jaw but it always went away within a few minutes. This has lasted all day and hasn't gotten any better. I'll probably call the doctor in the morning if it is still bothering me.

I went to the doctor this morning and I somehow managed to mess up my jaw, well actually the muscles surrounding the left side hinge of my jaw. I have been prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication and also a muscle relaxer for night time. Doctor said if i'm not feeling better in a week I have to go back and get "injection therapy". I'm really hoping the medication works.....Eek.

Hey, my jaw also hurts as the first post described but i dont think i grind or have misaligned teeth except for in the front or on the right side where my jaw isnt hurting. I chew gum a lot so could that be a problem? Also it hurts to open my jaw but once its fully open then it doesnt hurt. I have trouble eating food because it hurts but when i bite down on my teeth i have no problem.

id suggest that you both get into your doctor and tell them about this. blahblah--have you thought of a possible cause at all?

both of you put some heat on it and treat it like its sprianed. you could have just slept on it funny. if it doesnt go away with heat id really get it checked out.

Hi Forum Girl,

Just a suggestion, but if you know that you grind your teeth at night, I would suggest having a splint made for you to wear when you go to bed, this will save your teeth and your jaw some pain and stress.

yes this would protect the teeth and possible reduce tmd symptoms--get one made for you by a dentist. dont go with a mouth guard from a drug store as it may just cause you more harm than good

Urm okay, I know for a fact I grind my teeth. I can feel it in my dreams, it's like I can't speak and my mouth is glued shut, I can feel the pain...then I wake up and I realize what I'm doing. -_-

But I haven't felt it in my dreams lately...My jaw just felt all weird last night and now the pain has gotten worse. It's like 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep cause the pain is bothering me that much...so I'm online looking for a solution as I am now.

T_T

I can only open my mouth halfway before feeling the pain, biting down hurts too. The pain occurs some where near or at the hinges of my jaw.

I only now just realized how much it hurt when I had to yawn...ouch. >_<

I suppose I will go to the doctor as most of you recommended... ^^

yes i found that i've been chewing gum a lot more lately because my university was giving away free Five gum on campus as some promotional event. i think the cause is overeating of gum and it has affected my jaw muscles as a result. my first thought was to go to a dentist but i don't think my teeth are misaligned or anything. perhaps a doctor is the best idea?

I've woken up with this about 5 days in a row. I grind my teeth, but I HAVE (and wear) a sleep guard that was molded for my teeth. I've never been diagnosed with TMJ, but my sister was. It started the day after my husband brought me gummy worms. I thought it was just that my jaw was tired. Its happened before, but It didn't go away after 1-2 days. It's gradually hurt worse every morning, but by an hour later it feels fine. Looks like I'll have to make a Dr. appointment. *sigh* I hate Navy docs.

Wow, this seems exactly like what has happened to me. I woke up one day,with a tremendous pain on the right side of my jaw. Right near the hinge. It hurts to move my jaw and especially when i bite down. I get a shooting pain up my jaw and to my ear. This has never happened before... I would love some muscle relaxers =P

I've had problems with my jaw for years. The first time was after I gave birth to my daughter. I was in the hospital and gonna eat and I couldn't open my mouth very far. It turned out that I had a slipped disk in my jaw. Went to an oral surgeon and he pulled the disk back into place. It was an out patient procedure. It did work. I could open my mouth all the way after that. Now I got bigger problems. Broke jaw 4 years ago, 2 surguries later, now its been bother me again. Trying to find a clinical trial for jaw replacement. Got laid off recently and have no insurance. Been searching internet for clinical trial. No luck yet.

I have awful pain in the hinge of my jaw when I bite down. This is obviously making it impossible for me to chew anything. I've had it for almost a week, and it seems to be getting much worse. Its just on one side, and seems to feel like cartlidge/grissle in my jaw is clicking when I try to bite down. I can feel it clicking, and then I get a terrible shooting pain. I can open my mouth as wide as normal. Its just when I bite.

I have been reading about people grinding their teeth in their sleep, but i have asked my partner, and he said I haven't.

Should I go to my Doctors?

Owwch!!

I woke up one morning with jaw pain and it hasn't gone
a way- seems like same symptoms as all of you. I went to my dentist and he massaged my gum ( it hurt!), but, it felt better for a short time. If there was something really wrong, it probably wouldn't have felt any better- soooo
do we need jaw massage??!! Yech

i woke up about 2 days ago with a pain in my jaw on the left side up near my jaw hinge i am 13 years old so i have braces and my dentist confirmed to me that i do grind my teeth while i am sleeping i am going to try and get a mouth guard from the dentist. When i bite down it only herts a little but i cant feel the left side of my jaw almost its weird i have to go to the dentist soon and ill ask them abot it. My grand parrents think that i am not brushing my teeth enough and that is why .....

my ear hurts when i yawn must be because of my jaw?

This has happened to me. I had NO idea what it was. I am most certain it is TMJ. I completely chewed the inner gum of my right jaw, it looks like a circle and I can tell where my top teeth was biting down on it caught in between my back bottom molars. I have NO idea how I could practically shred my gums and not wake up noticing it. I grind my teeth also, but not often. I believe this time my gums inner cheek gums got caught in the way, OUCH OUCH OUCH! So not only does my jaw/ear hurt, but my shredded gums are killing me.

my jaw has been hurting for three days now at the back where the hings are. it only hurts when my mouth is closed

hi all, iv been having really bad jaw pain for a while not been able to eat properly open my mouth yawn so i went to my dentist who sed nothing was wrong and gave me a mouth guard it still hurt so went back apparently nothing was wrong so went back yet again still the same i decided to go to my doctor and thankfully i got sent to a specialist at the hospital and now awaiting surgery on my jaw so guys go to ur doctors before its to late xx