Why does your jaw hurt when chewing and opening your mouth and what to do. For what reasons the jaw may not open completely and what to do about it

When pain in the jaw when chewing takes you by surprise, the need to take painkillers comes to the fore. In most cases, the pain syndrome is well relieved and therefore forgotten quite quickly. However, the real problem can lie low for a while and at an opportune moment make itself known.

Thus, soreness in the jaw area can be regarded as the result of awkward movements while eating. You should not find an excuse for a subsided illness; it is better to once again visit a qualified doctor and find out the cause discomfort. Only the attending physician will be able to recognize or exclude the disease, give recommendations or prescribe treatment.

It is important to understand that early diagnosis reduces risk possible complications and guarantees a favorable outcome of the pathological condition. Because the jaw bone can become ill for several reasons, it is worthwhile to dwell on each of them in more detail.

Trauma as a cause of pain

At the first place possible reasons pain syndrome in the projection of the jaw bone is due to injury. Usually, mechanical damage manifest themselves quite quickly. A dislocation can cause sudden movement in the joint. A bruise is often the result of either accidental or intentional injury. As for cracks and fractures of the jaw, their implementation must be preceded by strong external influence. In all cases, the jaw hurts when opening the mouth, and clenching the teeth is much easier.

Dangerous inflammatory processes

Osteomyelitis is serious illness bone tissue, characterized by suppuration and decay of solid structures. Because the outbreak spreads quickly, those around them are also involved in the pathological process. soft fabrics.

Cellulitis is insidious pathological condition, which could lead to serious consequences. Since inflammation spreads through blood vessels, then it is almost impossible to stop without the intervention of a specialist.

An abscess is a closed cavity with purulent contents, which under certain conditions is ready to come out. You should not wait for the “bag” of pus to open and permeate nearby tissues with pathological exudate. Thus, the spread of infection can lead to serious complications.

Bite defect as a source of pain

An incorrect bite not only makes significant adjustments to the aesthetics of a smile, but also becomes a stumbling block when eating. Teeth that are unevenly positioned in relation to each other naturally lead to disruption of the digestion process already at the initial stage. Some foods are completely excluded from the diet because they are difficult to chew.

Therefore, often when clenching the jaws, pain occurs due to a clear discrepancy between the upper and lower dentition.

The unpleasant pain subsides immediately after the pressure on the curved tooth surfaces ceases.

Orthodontic structures and pain

As a rule, the process of getting used to braces or dentures proceeds completely differently in patients. In most cases adaptation period takes up to three weeks. But often when wearing " foreign body" inside oral cavity painful sensations arise, which may indicate correction of the bite due to its defect or the grinding of dentures to the patient’s gums.

This kind of unpleasant sensation can more likely be attributed to temporary discomfort rather than to painful adaptation. As is known, patients perceive even filling material for some time as a hindrance in the oral cavity.

Joint pain

Dysfunction of temporo- mandibular joint in most cases it becomes a real problem. Patients make every effort to unclench their jaws, but their mouth does not want to open.

Arthritis signals itself by characteristic swelling (swelling) of the joint and pain of varying intensity. When opening the mouth, it is obvious that the patient cannot move the lower jaw in full.

Arthrosis is characterized by peculiar movements of the jaws, similar to a zigzag. It seems that when moving, both jaws live a separate life. At the same time, patients note that their ear hurts, and less often their cheekbone.

Ankylosis of the jaw joint develops gradually, so pain in the jaw and around the ear should not be ignored by specialists. And pronounced stiffness of movement or complete blocking of the TMJ requires immediate help from specialized specialists.

Often, advanced forms of temporomandibular joint dysfunction with pain syndrome are the result of patients’ negligent attitude towards their health.

Jaw pain due to neuralgia

Pinched or inflamed nerve endings usually lead to shooting pains that can radiate to the cheekbone, temple, or even the back of the head. The patient complains of constant discomfort when opening his mouth, because any movement provokes “lumbago”.

If your jaw hurts when you open your mouth due to neuralgia, it is important to contact a qualified professional medical care. Advanced forms of neuralgia are fraught with serious complications.

Pain during tumor process

Neoplasms that can long time do not manifest themselves, can be benign or malignant. In most cases, tumors develop asymptomatically until they compress nerve endings and neighboring organs and tissues. If your jaw hurts when you open your mouth, it's probably pathological formation has already penetrated into the depths of the nervous tissue.

Adamantioma is a neoplasm characterized by relatively rapid growth. The characteristic protrusion of the jaw bone develops gradually. This suggests that there is too little room for the tumor to grow further development. If your jaw hurts when you open your mouth, bone destruction may progress and at the same time compression of soft tissues, nerve endings and blood vessels occurs.

Osteoblastoclastoma is distinguished by its insidious character. During the onset of the tumor, the patient does not make any complaints regarding the facial area. Over time, the aching pain turns into acute pain, which means that the process has already affected the nerves and surrounding tissues.

Concerning malignant neoplasms, then they prefer to lead a secret lifestyle. Cancer is often discovered quite late, because the patient did not seek qualified help at the first pain. Most patients associate pain with dental problems, so they relieve the pain syndrome on their own and prefer to forget about it. Meanwhile, cancer slowly but surely attacks healthy cells and covers large areas.

Important questions

If your jaw hurts near your ear, what should you do? It is important to consider that pain in the ear area or just below can be a manifestation of both a disease of the ENT organs (otitis) and pain dysfunction in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

What should you do if your jaw hurts when you chew and when you open your mouth? Any pain in the jaw while eating should not be ignored. Constant pain against the background of painkillers, they can subside only for a while, and then return with a vengeance. And at low pain threshold and not let you live in peace at all.

Pain when opening the mouth and chewing movements is familiar to many, as it often appears with dental problems. Such a symptom may be transient or signal a serious pathology. To understand what to do in this situation, you need to pay attention to the accompanying signs.

Wisdom teeth

The last teeth in the row, the so-called “eights,” erupt later than everyone else. When a person reaches the age of 14, mental development is considered complete and wisdom develops. Therefore, the eighth teeth, or third molars, are called wisdom teeth.

When eights are cut, the jaw hurts when opening the mouth, chewing, yawning and talking. The pain often does not subside even at rest, disturbing even at night. The gums can swell greatly, causing swelling of the cheek, and it is also impossible to close the mouth completely.

Pain syndrome It is most often caused by a lack of space in the jaw arch, which is why the tooth tries to take an unphysiological position and erupts incorrectly. The figure eight can erupt at an angle towards the adjacent tooth, pressure on which is another cause of pain.

The appearance of wisdom teeth is sometimes accompanied by an increase in body temperature and enlarged lymph nodes. In some cases, the swelling is so severe that it prevents the mouth from closing.

Difficulty in the eruption of wisdom teeth is called pericoronitis, which in most cases does not go away on its own and requires a visit to a dental surgeon.

To alleviate the condition, you can use local remedies- Kamistad ointment, Solcoseryl, Metrogil-denta or Kalgel. Rinsing with antiseptic solutions(Furacilin) or herbs (chamomile, sage). You can eliminate swelling with cold compresses.

Attention: if the pain does not go away after a day or two, you should consult a dentist.

Injuries

Jaw injury is a fairly common occurrence, which does not always go away without consequences. In case of bruises, people rarely go to the doctor, and in case of dislocations or fractures, difficulties arise with fixation. Therefore, tissue healing and bone fusion often occur incorrectly.

Almost any damage lower jaw negatively affects the function of the mandibular joint, the mobility of which is impaired. This is why it hurts to open your mouth even long after the injury.

In the absence or insufficient treatment of injuries, signs such as swelling of the soft tissues, misalignment of the jaw and its pathological mobility also appear. In this case, you should contact the emergency room or a surgeon who will restore the normal position of the jaw and apply a fixing bandage.

The treatment of injuries to the jaw is carried out by a dental surgeon who will select prostheses that do not allow the patient to open the mouth wide, for example, the Petrosov apparatus.

Dental diseases

Painful sensations when opening the mouth and chewing can cause inflammatory processes in the oral cavity. For example, with advanced caries, complications develop that do not disappear on their own:

pulpitis;
periodontitis;
granuloma (tooth cyst);
phlegmon;
periostitis (flux);
osteomyelitis;
multiple caries affecting a group of teeth.

Since in these diseases the surrounding tissues are involved in the pathological process - to the right or left of the jaw joint - throbbing pain occurs and jaw mobility is limited. The pain syndrome is especially severe when the pulp of the molars (molars) and the hood of the eights are inflamed.

Neoplasms

Neoplasms of the upper or lower jaw can be benign or malignant. They can be formed from dental, bone, cartilage and connective tissue. This pathology is characterized by chronic, constant pain.

Benign neoplasms grow slowly, without causing harm to health or manifesting themselves for many years. Malignant tumors, on the contrary, develop rapidly, often leaving no chance for recovery. Without treatment, the prognosis for life is poor.

According to statistics, in approximately 4% of cases, benign osteoma of the jaw is diagnosed - a bone tumor that manifests itself only under certain conditions. Reaching a significant size, it begins to put pressure on the nerve, and characteristic symptoms arise:

pain and stiffness in jaw movements;
violation of facial symmetry;
bone deformation;
change in bite.

If the mouth does not open completely, the cause may be osteoma, which is located next to the coronoid or condylar process.

Osteoblastoma is another type benign tumor, most often manifested by aching pain. A typical symptom is the appearance of ulcers and fistulas on the gums, increased tooth mobility. Patients complain that pain occurs when chewing, and over time it only intensifies.

The first sign of adamantinoma is a visual thickening of the jaw, which inevitably leads to disruption of the chewing process. Along with this, the intensity of pain in the jaw also increases. In advanced cases, the pain syndrome becomes pronounced and sharp, especially during meals.

Malignant tumors

There are two types of malignant neoplasms – cancer and sarcoma. The latter, in turn, can be formed from connective or bone tissue. Cancer tumor is formed from the skin and mucous membranes, first causing exposure of the dental necks, then loosening and loss of teeth. On early stages the pain is mild or moderate; as the tumor grows, it intensifies.

Connective tissue sarcoma is a fast-growing tumor that can reach large sizes behind a short time. Almost always its growth is accompanied by sharp, throbbing pain on the left side of the jaw or on the right. However, at the beginning of the development of sarcoma, only dulling of the tactile sensitivity of the skin of the face and gums is possible.

A typical symptom of osteogenic (bone) sarcoma is moderate chronic pain that increases with palpation of the lower part of the face.

It is worth noting that detection of jaw tumors most often occurs on late stages, which is explained by the blur clinical picture. In addition, most patients do not visit the dentist regularly and try to cope with discomfort with home remedies.

New growths of the oral cavity are removed surgically, in some cases using a gentle curettage method.

Joint pathologies

If your jaw hurts when you open your mouth, the cause may be damage to the temporomandibular joint - arthritis, arthrosis or dysfunction. With arthritis, inflammation develops in the joint due to injury or infection. This is manifested by pain on both or only one side of the face, swelling, redness, and difficulty chewing.

Arthrosis is chronic illness, in which a destructive degenerative process develops in the joint tissues

Arthritis of the TMJ is also accompanied by a decrease in speech function and hearing, and a crunching sound when the jaw moves. The pain syndrome varies from weak, aching to sharp and unbearable. Patients complain that they cannot open their mouth completely; when they try to do this, the jaw “slides” to the side.

Since fluid accumulates in the joint during inflammation, a feeling of fullness and pressure occurs, and the resulting swelling interferes with the closure of the teeth. In the morning after a night's rest, the sensations are especially uncomfortable, which is explained by the large amount of exudate that has accumulated overnight.

The signs of arthrosis have some similarities with arthritis, since the pain is also localized in the joint. Arthrosis can develop due to the absence of one or more chewing teeth when the main load is transferred to the jaw bone.

Most typical sign arthrosis is pain during movements - opening and closing the mouth, chewing, yawning, laughing or talking - as well as a characteristic cracking sound. With arthrosis, the jaw may hurt on the left or right side, but bilateral lesions also occur.

Caution: Clicking in the jaw joint may be the only symptom diseases, especially in the early stages. Having “captured” arthrosis at the very beginning of its development, you can count on a complete recovery.

Dysfunction of the jaw joint is understood as a functional violation of symmetry in its structure, which leads to displacement of the discs and the appearance of pain. There are many answers to the question of why dysfunction occurs, and people are often involved in searching for them. narrow specialists– neurologists, psychologists and dentists.

The clinical picture of dysfunction, or Costen syndrome, is very diverse and includes the following symptoms:

clicking and cracking sounds when the jaw moves - sometimes these sounds can be very loud and can be heard by people around them;
pain can be felt not only at the joint point, but also in other places - head, teeth, ears. Pain due to TMJ dysfunction often mimics neuralgia trigeminal nerve, osteochondrosis cervical region spine, acute otitis media and other diseases;
blocking, or jamming in a joint. When a person opens his mouth, he must first “catch” the optimal position of the lower jaw by moving it from side to side.

The above symptoms are most typical for temporomandibular joint dysfunction, but others are often added to them:

dizziness;
interrupted sleep, snoring, pauses in breathing during sleep - sleep apnea;
increased sensitivity to light;
dry mouth due to decreased salivation;
problems swallowing food;
pain and burning sensation on the tongue;
noise in ears.

Diagnosing dysfunction is quite difficult, since it can be caused by injury, dystrophic or inflammatory process, malocclusion, etc. Treatment of pathology is carried out by a dentist and in almost all cases includes the use of orthopedic devices - for example, night trainers.

Attention: if dysfunction is suspected, you should consult a specialist, since with a long course of the disease, the structure of the joint changes and arthrosis develops.

Neuralgia

The jaw may hurt if the peripheral nerves are damaged - trigeminal, superior laryngeal, glossopharyngeal or auricular. General symptom they have one - pain in the jaw area, however, each type of neuralgia has its own characteristic signs.

Pain on one side of the face that occurs when the trigeminal nerve is damaged is extremely severe and comparable to an electric shock

The trigeminal nerve is so called because it is divided into three branches - the orbital, maxillary and mandibular. When the last two branches are affected, pain occurs in the corresponding areas - the upper and lower jaw. Shooting pain syndrome appears when consuming cold or hot food, being in a draft or outside in windy weather. Before the onset of a painful attack, the skin may feel tight and slightly itchy.

The ear nerve becomes inflamed due to periodontal or ENT diseases. Neuralgia auditory nerve accompanied by burning, throbbing pain behind the ear, which can spread to half of the lower jaw, the back of the head and the collar area.

The glossopharyngeal nerve innervates the muscle of the same name and the parotid muscle salivary gland, and also provides taste sensitivity to the back of the tongue. The function of this nerve is impaired due to infectious and inflammatory pathologies, aneurysm and brain tumor. Symptoms of the lesion include pain in the throat, jaw and ear.

Neuralgia of the upper laryngeal nerve– a very painful phenomenon in which pain is observed in the larynx and lower jaw, radiating (radiating) to the ear, eye or temple. Often a painful attack is accompanied by dry mouth and cough.

The diagnosis and treatment of neuralgia is carried out by neurologists who prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs, neuroprotectors, anticonvulsants, antihistamines and sedatives, muscle relaxants.

Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis of the jaw is a purulent inflammatory and infectious process that involves the entire jaw bone and leads to osteonecrosis (bone death). This pathology is quite common in dental practice and affects mainly males. Osteomyelitis of the lower jaw is diagnosed twice as often as the upper jaw.

In the vast majority of cases, the cause of osteomyelitis is dental diseases - caries, pulpitis, periodontitis, alveolitis, cyst on the root of the tooth. From the source of the lesion, the infection penetrates into the bone, which is greatly facilitated by decreased immunity and some systemic diseases.

In acute cases of osteomyelitis, the temperature rises sharply to 38-39°, pain appears in the area of the diseased tooth, which after some time spreads, “spreads” to the ear and temple. The tooth begins to loosen, the gum underneath it swells, and purulent contents are released from the formed gum pockets.

The progress of the pathological process leads to the fact that the mouth almost does not open, it becomes difficult to swallow and even breathe, underlip the outside and inside become numb, sensitivity decreases in the chin area.

Attention: if you suspect osteomyelitis of the jaw, you must visit the dentist as soon as possible to prevent the development of severe complications.

From the above it follows that the main condition for the prevention of pain in the jaw is timely treatment and dental prosthetics. This is how you can avoid most ailments. The exception is tumors and injuries, which cannot be prevented. In this case the only way minimize the consequences - early examination and treatment.

Sometimes there is an unusual condition when the jaw does not open completely or does not open well. A person cannot eat properly, talk, and when trying to open his mouth a little wider, pain appears, sometimes of a sharp nature. Trying to sharply open the mouth, a person feels severe pain in the mandibular joint, and it can also radiate to the temporal region. This condition in which the jaw does not open completely is called muscle contracture. Problems in the periarticular tissues of the temporomandibular joint can also be the cause of such complaints.

Severely limited mouth opening is observed with ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint. With this disease, complete or partial fusion of the articular surfaces occurs. Normal eating becomes impossible, bite and breathing are disrupted. The face takes on a “bird-like” appearance. Treatment of this pathology is surgical. Additionally, massage, exercise therapy, drug therapy and a gentle diet.

If contracture of the jaw apparatus appears, it is recommended to consult a specialist. After additional diagnostic measures, he will be able to determine why the mouth does not open fully, why painful sensations, and what to do in this case.

With contracture, there is a sudden difficulty in the mobility of the joint, which is responsible for the movements of the lower jaw, due to pathological processes in muscle or ligamentous tissue. Often such processes are triggered by injuries, illnesses, or reflex sharp muscle contractions.

There are certain reasons why it is impossible or difficult to open your mouth:

contracture of the muscles of the jaw apparatus, which occurs as a result of injuries (for example, after a fall, blow), sprains of the muscular apparatus (with prolonged wide opening of the mouth at the dentist);
myositis, which is obtained during the administration of anesthesia (mandibular or torusal), which is used in the treatment or extraction of units on the lower dentition;
an inflammatory process in the muscular system that appears as a result of hypothermia or infection;
rheumatic diseases and, as a result, inflammation in the temporomandibular joint;
injury to the joint or surrounding tissues;
subluxation;
periostitis of the alveolar process and inflammation, which has spread to all structures of the ligamentous apparatus of this area;
purulent processes (phlegmon, abscesses) on the mandibular apparatus, which provoke an inflammatory process in the joint itself or in the muscles that move the lower jaw.

All of the above conditions can cause a condition in which the jaw cannot be fully opened, and the range of mouth opening itself fluctuates up to one centimeter.

What to do

To eliminate the problem of difficulty opening your mouth, you should visit a dentist. The specialist will conduct an examination and prescribe appropriate diagnostic measures, will discover the reason inflammatory process. Therapy will directly depend on the condition of the joint, the degree of contracture, and the cause that provoked the pathology. What to do can only be decided by a qualified specialist. Also, in order to prescribe competent therapy, the time during which the pathological condition lasts is important.

There are two main approaches to the treatment of contracture – conservative and radical. To begin with, it is assigned conservative treatment, which includes the use of such measures and medications:

Anti-inflammatory medications.
Analgesics.
Physiotherapeutic procedures.
Therapeutic exercises.

All of the above measures are intended to reduce the severity of the inflammatory process and gradually force the mouth to open.

If the cause of contracture of the muscular system is the introduction of anesthesia or overstretching of the muscle during prolonged opening of the jaw, such conditions usually go away on their own within a few days and do not require special treatment. If the reasons lie elsewhere, a visit to a specialist is mandatory.

In case if this pathology caused by adhesions, scars, tissue fusion, it is advisable to use radical treatment, which assumes surgery. Surgical treatment consists of excision of modified tissues and replacement of lost areas of tissue. Typically, these procedures are performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

If additional pain occurs

If, in addition to muscle contracture, pain occurs when opening the mouth, there are probable reasons such a state:

Fracture. During it, pain, difficulty moving the jaw, hematoma or bruising occurs. In such a situation, you should immediately visit a specialist.
Osteomyelitis of the jaw. Treatment of the disease must be carried out immediately, as dangerous complications may occur.
Arteritis of the facial artery.
Dysfunctions in the jaw apparatus. May be congenital (eg malocclusion), acquired (joint inflammation).

Regardless of the cause and severity of symptoms, it is recommended that you contact a qualified specialist in a timely manner who can make a diagnosis, determine the cause and prescribe the correct treatment regimen. If the use of conservative treatment options does not bring desired result, it is advisable to undergo surgical treatment to restore the full function of the temporomandibular joint.

1. What stimulates the process and who will help

The true cause of pain in the jaw joint may be inflammation of the surrounding soft structures, passing nearby nerves, bone tissue or its trauma.

Absolutely unrelated reasons can lead to jaw pain.

Namely:

exposure to any physical force;
malocclusion;
osteomyelitis, osteogenic tumor;
arthrosis;
arthritis;
tooth decay or the growth of figure eights also cause pain in the jaw on the right or left, depending on the side where the disturbing hard element is located;
neuralgia also causes pain in the jaw joint when opening the mouth;
chronic head diseases.

Places at the joint of the jaw where problems may occur

The problem is diagnosed by a dental surgeon or neurologist. If all teeth have been treated and nerve diseases have been ruled out, a maxillofacial specialist is involved in the consultation, as it may be necessary to solve the problem through surgery.

Each case where the jaw hurts when opening is considered:

by frequency;
intensity of manifestations;
different symptoms.

The basis of the diagnosis will be an X-ray image, which will show a picture of what is happening inside.

2. Why does my jaw hurt when I open my mouth wide?

Causes of the condition, with sensations that the jaw hurts when opening the mouth on the left or with reverse side, may be sharp and chronic processes inflammation. They cause swelling of the soft structures, and since the space is limited, they put a certain pressure on the articular joint.

With strong acute process, discomfort appears very quickly. A system reaction that is triggered quickly often creates conditions for a local response of a more intense nature. It happens that after two or three days from the onset of inflammation, patients say that they cannot open their mouth and their jaw hurts. In a chronic condition, everything drags on.

What causes inflammation:

No matter how trivial it may seem, let's start with the usual caries, not in the surface layer of the crown, but during its deep destruction. When bacteria penetrate into the canal and then into the root apex area. A focus of inflammation forms there, spreading without treatment to neighboring tissues. And if the tooth is closer to the larynx, then such cases when pain appears in upper jaw on the right, take place. Inflammation spreads not only to soft structures, but also to bone. Accordingly, this affects the joint and its connection area. There are disturbances in the nutrition of the depreciation zone, and it is gradually injured in the created pathological conditions.
Both independently and arising according to the scenario described above can occur osteomyelitis. He gives unpleasant pain in the jaw when opening the mouth. Against the background of the disease, discomfort in the head and general weakness bother me.
Wisdom tooth causes a local reaction in the space where it tries to find a place for itself. A person feels that his jaw joint on the right hurts if the figure eight begins to push through from this side.
At inflammation the very connection of the bones, unpleasant sensations appear with frequency. They can be not only on one side, when the upper jaw hurts on the left, but also affect the shock absorption zone from below. With arthrosis and arthritis, symptoms occur in the morning and evening hours, and are activated seasonally or when immunity decreases. The duration depends on the characteristics of the body.

Palpation of the articular joint in the area of jaw movement

3. Other reasons

Neuralgia

If the lower jaw hurts when opening the mouth and at the same time in the morning and daytime If a reaction appears at the local level in the form of burning, numbness, then the cause may be inflammation or nerve damage. The intensity of the unpleasant sensations is paroxysmal in nature, radiating to the temples and ear.

May be affected:

guttural;
glossopharyngeal nerve,
facial;
trigeminal.

Penetration of undesirable microorganisms into the structures holding teeth

Infection of the pulp causes a reaction in the nervous system. And if the large nerve is located close to this place, impulses are transmitted along it to the temporomandibular zone.

Injury

A dangerous condition is a condition when it appears sharp pain in the lower jaw on the left or on the side where the cause of the reaction was injury. The result will be dislocation and fracture of the bone area.

Damage caused:

displacement of teeth due to their loose retention inside the gums;
malocclusion;
or mechanical impact.

Dysfunction of the jaw joint

Tumors

When any type of pathological neoplasm grows, it has nowhere to go; as it increases in volume, it provokes irritation of the nerves and other internal structures. This can result in such strong compression of the bone joint if the tumor is in close proximity that pathological displacement or dislocation of the joint is caused. This condition should be monitored by internal research.

4. How the diagnosis is excluded or confirmed

When diagnosing why the jaw hurts on the left side or in the opposite area; inflammation, dislocation and subluxation are immediately excluded.

If inflammation is confirmed, the cause of its initiation must be established. If subluxation is confirmed, there may be several options. Determination is possible through research internal state hard tissues.

There is also such a syndrome as dysfunction of the jaw joint, painful. It is penetrating, its disappearance is possible with the right general approach. Since the patient experiences pain in the jaw when yawning, chewing, and even when opening the mouth slightly. Each movement can cause an unpleasant click, which, due to the proximity of the location, can be heard in the ear.

It seems to happen in the ear rather than outside of it. Chewing food is unpleasant. Therefore, in addition to normalizing the bite, therapy is complemented by comprehensive measures to relax the masticatory muscles.

In fact, each cause of pain in the maxillo-articular joint leads to a certain degree of dysfunction. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to this condition so that, based on differential diagnosis managed to determine the source of irritation.

When the process of chewing and opening the mouth becomes too painful, a person very often does not know which doctor to contact for these symptoms. This pathology can be caused by several diseases:

dental nature;
neurological properties;
subject surgical treatment;
vascular.

The main pathologies will be various changes in teeth and gums, lesions facial nerve, traumatic pathologies of the jaws or its joints.

In some cases, chewing will be painful due to ear pain due to inflammation.

Traumatic lesions of the jaw

Changes in the jaws caused by trauma can vary in severity:

Bruises are the mildest types of injuries. Only soft tissues are affected, bones are not damaged. At the site of the injury, bruising and swelling form on the face, accompanied by severe pain when moving the jaws and chewing. Passes after swelling will subside and bruise, usually 7 days, if the pain is very severe, an x-ray should be taken to diagnose jaw bone fractures.
A fracture is always the result of a blow or bruise. The injury is quite serious and very painful, swelling appears at the site of contact, and a hematoma occurs after a short time. With bruises of the lower jaw, the patient cannot open and close his mouth. When the bones of the upper jaw are damaged, hematomas may appear in the undereye; sometimes such signs indicate a fracture of the base of the skull; in case of particularly severe injuries, yellowish fluid discharge and bleeding from the ear openings are observed. In case of such injuries, a consultation with a surgeon and an X-ray examination must be carried out. Such injuries are subject to surgical treatment. Particularly severe fractures are subject to inpatient treatment.
When trying to open the mouth sharply or with a strong blow on one side, dislocation of the lower jaw is possible in people with inflammatory articular pathologies. With such a defeat it is felt sharp pain, the jaw gets into an unnatural position - it moves out or warps, the mouth does not close, the patient cannot talk and explain what happened. The surgeon realigns the jaw and then takes x-rays to diagnose the fracture.
Long-term consequences of injury are aching pain, the cause of which is damage to the gums and tooth fragments by the fixing orthopedic splint during a fracture. Fracture therapy is a fairly lengthy procedure, often requiring hospital treatment.

Dental pathologies

Pathologies that will cause pain in the jaw when chewing are:

caries pathologies of teeth, in which they are destroyed, painful pathological cavities are formed, and nerve endings are constantly irritated;
pulpitis, which destroys dental tissue and affects the nerve endings of the tooth;
periodontitis – inflammation of the periodontal tissues;
abscess in the periodontal area - an abscess that occurs in the oral cavity, near the teeth;
osteomyelitis of certain areas of the jaw – inflammatory pathologies bone tissue is a complication of caries and pulpitis;
dental lesions – tooth splits, dislocations, fractures of the dental neck.
toothache of unknown origin;
Gingivitis is inflammation of the mucous membrane of the gums, in which they become swollen and red. When closing the jaws, the pain is provoked by pieces of food that irritate them;
inflammation of the dental socket that occurs after tooth extraction with swelling and redness of the socket.

These jaw pains are sharp, throbbing, and tend to get worse at night. The causing factor there will be a load on the jaws when chewing, strong grip of the jaws, the influence of too hot or too cold food.

The therapy is carried out by a dentist and a surgeon, and diagnostics is carried out x-ray examination, osteomyelitis requires antibiotic therapy.

Neurological pain

The causes of severe pain in the jaw are also damage to the nerve nodes:

Trigeminal neuralgia causes very severe pain in the jaw with pathologies of its lower part. The type of pain is sharp, severe, appears mainly at night, is unilateral, does not extend to the area behind the jaw;
pathologies of the upper nerve of the larynx, causing severe pain when chewing food and opening the mouth wide, blowing the nose or sneezing; irradiation into the chest is possible;
inflammation glossopharyngeal nerve is quite rare.

Pain occurs when chewing. Additional symptoms include pain when speaking and dry mucous membranes in the mouth. To relieve attacks, pain relief and drugs to relieve inflammation are prescribed; for severe pain, surgical treatment is used.

Vascular lesions

The cause of pain in the jaw when opening the mouth and chewing can be vascular lesions:

inflammation of the facial artery causes severe burning pain, which is localized either along the edge of the lower jaw from the corner to the chin, or in the upper jaw in the nose area. Sometimes the pain radiates to the area of the eye socket;
defeats carotid artery is now considered to be a cause of migraine. The pain can affect half the face, half the jaw, teeth, or radiate to the ear. Medications are used for treatment.

Joint dysfunctions

Pain in the jaw when chewing, tight grip of the jaws occurs due to dysfunction of the lower jaw joint. The cause of the violation may be:

injury;
inflammatory process;
bite defects;
masticatory muscle injuries.

The pain typically responds to the facial and temporal region; when chewing and opening the mouth, clicks are heard, and jaw movements are often limited.

The diagnostic method is to conduct an X-ray examination.