Jaw pain and stiffness

[frog]

Hi, I went to the dentist and had work done on a back tooth.

My problem now is I can hardly open my mouth, and it is really painful when I try.

I went to my GP, and as I have arthritis and temperalmandible jaw disorder, (TMD) I understand it is due to the duration of the treatment that has inflamed my jaw.

I called my Dentist and they advised it may be the numbing injection that has caused tismus? Which can occur if the injection goes into the muscle.

(We'll eventually) my predicament is I just have to wait, possibly weeks for it to go, and there seems to be little to ease it.

I went on U Tube, and found exercises, and massage techniques, which I have been following, to help ease the pain, so why couldn't the professionals give this advise, rather than wait and it will eventually go.

Just needed to get this moan out,

Thanks Sandy.

PS my usual GP is very good, but can't always get an appointment with the same person.

[Chris21]

I had this happen too! Quite scary isn't it, looking at your dinner and not knowing how to eat it. I had to 'poke' it through the small gap that I could make and it took for ever chewing. The dentist said it was because I had arthritis and Hypermobility. He just said try to keep moving it as best as possible because if it didn't correct itself they would have to put a sort of hinge on my jaw that I would have to manually open to eat! This was enough to make me keep exercising, it took a month to get back to normal but fortunately did sort itself out.

One thing the dentist did say (has now put on notes) if I have to have dental work again, I need to make sure I don't have my mouth open for longer than 30 minutes as this could be making the jaw 'lock' as soon as you close your mouth. He's very cautious these days, even on a check up he always asks if I need to close my mouth! 😀 I hope it's not too long before you get movement again

[Barnclown]

Gosh...what a dreadful condition! Hope the treatment is helping.

Am so glad you brought this up..Chris's reply is v interesting...partly cause I'm hypermobile too and always struggle at the dental clinic: now I better know what to watch out for & what to tell my dentist & hygienist

Take care. XO

[Hidden]

Hi - this has been my biggest problem for six months now. I have RA rather than Lupus - although my presentation is very systemic and lupus-like. My GP says he is sure it is TMD caused by the RA inflammation with me and I know many with RA have similar problems to those you describe. The dentist (hospital oral surgery) wants to do a jaw X-ray in June and have me see the max fac surgeon to rule out RA erosion.

I don't struggle so much to open my mouth but find all my teeth ache and its hard to chew anything. The ache goes right up into my jaw joints and if I'm having my hair washed with head leaning back I get this awful throbbing pain in the nerves on one side. It has become hard to smile and I try not to clench even slightly as my bite seems to have slipped - almost like my jaw has changed shape?

I've been having physio for vestibular problems and she has also given me jaw relaxation exercises. You should chew using both sides for equal amount of time and avoid chewing where possible. She feels that the pain in my peripheries may be making me clench my teeth at night and the dentist confirmed that I have scalloping on my tongue. They both say that tension from prolonged pain may well have triggered the bruxism. I use a dentally moulded mouth guard and biofreeze at night - both help.