Is It Normal to Have Jaw Pain After Dental Work?

One of the most common causes is simply having your mouth open for an extended period.

During some dental procedures, you may need to keep your mouth open for quite some time. This can place strain on the muscles and joints that control your jaw.

After a long appointment, you may notice:

• Aching around your jaw
• Stiffness when opening your mouth
• Tenderness when chewing
• Pain around the jaw or surrounding muscles

These symptoms can be common after a long dental appointment and usually improve on their own with time. However, if the pain persists or gets worse, you should seek advice from your dentist.

Local anaesthetic injections can sometimes cause temporary soreness around the injection site. This is usually mild and should settle as the area recovers.

Jaw pain or stiffness is particularly common after procedures involving oral surgery, such as wisdom tooth removal.

According to the NHS, these symptoms can last for up to two weeks, although they should generally start to improve after the first day or two.

There is no single recovery time that applies to everyone. It depends on the type of treatment you have had, how complex the procedure was, and how quickly your body recovers.

Mild jaw soreness may settle within a few hours after a straightforward dental procedure. But after a more invasive treatment, such as wisdom tooth removal, discomfort and stiffness can last anywhere from a few days to two weeks.

The important thing is that your symptoms should generally be improving rather than getting worse.

Chris Dean, Joint Managing Director at the Dental Law Partnership, says:

‘Mild jaw soreness after dental treatment is relatively common, particularly following a lengthy procedure where the mouth has been held open for an extended period. However, significant or persistent pain should not simply be dismissed. If symptoms are worsening, affecting your ability to eat or open your mouth, or are accompanied by swelling or other signs of infection, it is important to have the problem assessed by a dental professional.’

While some discomfort is expected after certain procedures, there are some symptoms that should prompt you to contact your dentist.

You should seek dental advice if you have:

• Severe or worsening jaw pain
• Pain that is not improving as expected
• Significant swelling around your jaw or face
• A high temperature or feeling generally unwell
• Pus, discharge or a persistent bad taste in your mouth
• Severe pain when biting or chewing
• Difficulty opening your mouth
• Pain that continues well beyond the expected recovery period
• Numbness or altered sensation that does not improve

These symptoms do not automatically mean that your dentist did something wrong. There are several possible causes, and a dental examination may be needed to find out what is happening.

You can call 111 for advice if you’re not sure what to do.

Jaw pain after dental work does not automatically mean you have experienced dental negligence.

Some pain, stiffness, and tenderness are normal after certain procedures. Your jaw may also feel sore after a long appointment simply because your mouth has been held open for an extended period.

However, there may be circumstances where dental treatment causes an avoidable injury or where a dentist fails to recognise a problem that requires treatment. If the care you received fell below an acceptable professional standard and this caused you harm, you may have grounds to make a dental negligence claim.

For example, concerns could arise if:

In rare cases, dental treatment can cause an injury to the jaw, mouth or surrounding structures. This could include trauma caused by improper use of dental equipment or an extraction that was carried out incorrectly.

Jaw pain can sometimes be related to an underlying infection or another condition. If a dentist fails to investigate significant symptoms, and the condition worsens as a result, this could potentially amount to a failure to diagnose or failure to treat.

If your jaw pain was caused by an avoidable injury or poor dental treatment, you may be able to make a dental negligence claim.

However, the fact that you have experienced pain after treatment is not enough on its own. You would generally need to show that the care you received fell below an acceptable standard and that this caused you harm.

A specialist dental negligence law firm, like the Dental Law Partnership, can review your circumstances and advise you on whether you may have a valid claim. You can also read more about jaw pain after dental work compensation claims here.

Think you might have a dental negligence claim? Get in touch with the Dental Law Partnership for a free, no-obligation consultation.