Causes Of Jaw Pain

The joints of the jaws are located right in front of the ears where the lower jaw would meet the skull. These joints allow a person to open and close his or her mouth and move it from side to side as well as backward and forward. These movements are possible because of the muscle located around the joint. The medical name for a jaw joint is a temporomandibular joint.

There are many things that would cause a jaw to pain, click or even stiffness or spasms. One of the known causes could be the small growth of bones around the joint. This could be because of irregularities in the joint which may have been present for a long time and these growths have developed over a period of time. Elderly people may get the pain in their jaws due to arthritis as the joint is worn out with age.

If there are any irregularities in the way a person's teeth meet when biting on something then it may lead to a painful jaw. This may happen at time when a person is having too many teeth removed. This is known as malocclusion. Another reason that could be possible for pain in the jaw joints is due to past injuries in the jaw such as dislocation of the joint.

There are a few symptoms which are very common for pain in the joint of the jaw such as an ache around the ear, cheek bone or neck. A headache early in the morning or the clicking of jaws is a common symptom. Sometimes when the jaws lock themselves together it means that there is something wrong. If the person is unable to open his or her mouth correctly then that is a straight shot symptom that there is something wrong. Jaw joint problems will have several of these problems or symptoms or even one is good enough to diagnose the problem. Some problems may become extremely painful while chewing or even yawning. The pain may be due to the tightening of the muscles and ligaments around the jaw.

The ligaments may also become loose sometimes when the joint is moved and so the disc of the cartilage will no longer stay between the jaw and the skull. This tends to make a noise either when the disc clicks forward after opening the mouth and then it clicks back to place when the mouth is closed. The sound is louder to the person since the joint is really close to the ear.

A common cause for the temporomandibular joint dysfunction is grinding of the teeth, and even clenching as well. This happens when the person constantly scrapes his or her teeth together. This happens unknowingly at night while the person is sleeping and also concentrating on something important. People aren't even aware of the fact that they are doing it either. Pain in the jaws may also come as a result of biting on the teeth or holding stuff in between them. This happens when feeling stressed and anxious.

You may not be aware that you are doing it. Jaw problems can also result from nail biting or holding things between your teeth, which you may do more when you feel anxious or stressed.

• John Palsson
• 01/05/2009, 4:59 PM
• 0 Comments