Hi CWMB,
You are welcome and thank you for posting an update. I'm sorry you are having pain but relieved to know that you had that infected tooth extracted.
I am not surprised about the jaw pain. You had a terrific infection in that quadrant of your mouth for quite some time. You also have had a lot of dental work done in that area of your mouth which required you to keep your mouth open wide for long periods of time putting a lot of stress on the jaw joints on both sides of your mouth. In addition to that, all of the dental work was traumatizing to the jaw joint and jaw bone.
It is common for tmj problems to cause pain in the joints which can often radiate to the cheek, the head, down the shoulder.... etc.
The first thing is to be sure that there is no more infection in that bone or in the sinus. Have both of those things been ruled out?
If the area is clear, then there are some things that you can do to help relieve the pain. The goal is to alleviate the pressure on the joint so the inflammation decreases. So that means less chewing. Try to eat a nutritious soft food diet. Avoid food that is chewy, sticky or requires you to open your mouth wide, like a sandwich. You may have to stick with this diet for several weeks or more because the benefits can only be achieved over a period of time. If you start to feel better and go back to over using your jaw, you will be right back to where you are now.
You will get relief from applying warm moist heat... not dry, moist. Dry heat brings the blood to the area and it just pools there. Moist heat encourages the flow of the blood. The best time to apply this is at night just before you go to sleep.
You can also try sleeping on two pillows. Just make sure you get into a comfortable position.
Chiropractic care, cranial sacral therapy, acupuncture and massage therapy are all very helpful. But again, it is going to take time to make this better so whatever therapy you choose, keep in mind that you will need to be committed to it for at least several weeks or more.
If you are clenching or grinding your teeth, then your dentist can have a night guard made for you which is worn when you sleep and this will also take the pressure off of your TMJ.
Hopefully you will find this information helpful. Keep me posted
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by CWMB
I just wanted to say thank you to Bryanna. I did end up needing to get the aforementioned molar (that had a root canal retreated) extracted about three weeks ago. The pain got simply ridiculous and my gums became very swollen. I really should have had it extracted earlier like you advised, but I honestly just hated the thought of having to lose that tooth (and the fake tooth connected by a bridge to it). It was quite traumatic actually. Since then, the extraction site seems to be healing well, but I do have quite horrible jaw pain. At first it was so bad in the jaw joint and radiating through the cheek, near the ear, and through the bottom jaw as well. Now, it appears to just be in the jaw joint, but still sometimes radiating through my cheek bone and into the extraction site. My jaw is sore on the other side too. I'm assuming having TMJ pain after so many dental procedures is normal, but I"m not sure what kind of treatment I should be seeking for this? Perhaps there is a different board I should be positing on re: TMJ, but any advice it appreciated. Thank you again for all the advice I have received here.
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