Treating Jaw Pain After Dental Work
If you’ve experienced a jaw injury during a dental appointment, you may be wondering how to manage the problem. Persistent jaw pain could indicate a serious oral health issue (such as nerve damage), so it’s important to seek medical attention quickly if you suspect your dentist has acted negligently and or caused harm.
In this article, we’ll explore the most common causes of pain in your jaw following dental treatment, and outline several effective pain relief options you can try to ease your condition. If you believe your injury resulted from negligent dental treatment, you may be able to open a dental negligence claim with our expert team of dental solicitors.
Find out more about making your claim by calling us on 0800 152 2039 – alternatively, you can also start your claim here.
What Are the Main Causes of Jaw Pain After Dental Work?
Experiencing severe jaw pain after dental work is very upsetting, but it’s even more concerning when it’s due to the negligence of yourdentist… In some cases, it’s natural to feel some pain and discomfort, but if the pain gets worse or doesn’t go away, it’s a major sign that something else is going on.
For example, if your jaw feels out of place and you have prolonged jaw pain that lasts for more than a week, this could indicate an issue with the temporomandibular joint or the ligaments surrounding this joint. These conditions are usually referred to as temporomandibular disorders (TMD). If TMD injuries are suspected, you must get them checked out by a medical professional, as chronic pain disorders can develop if left untreated. You might also experience jaw sprain or strain after dental treatment, due to hyperextension of the jaw.
Jaw hyperextension occurs when the muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments in the jaw become overstretched, often as a result of dental treatment. In turn, hyperextension can lead to a guarding reflex, which is where the muscles become tense and contract. This is more common in patients who have routine dental procedures lasting for several hours (although it can be experienced when treatment has lasted for a shorter period), leading to severe pain and jaw muscle fatigue when eating and speaking.
In rare cases, you may also experience trismus (more commonly known as lockjaw), which can be caused by keeping your mouth open for an extended period of time (for example, during dental work).
These effects can be permanent in some cases, so if any of these conditions are suspected, it’s important that you consult with a medical professional as soon as possible.
Can Nerve Damage Cause Jaw Pain?
Yes, another main cause of jaw pain after dental work is nerve damage – particularly to the branch of the trigeminal nerve that runs through that area of your face.
As well as experiencing a lot of pain in your jaw, teeth and gums, you may have the following symptoms if you have sustained a trigeminal nerve injury:
- Sudden, sharp stabbing pains in the affected area
- Pain that feels like an electric shock or a pins and needles sensation
- Increased dental sensitivity to temperatures
- Numbness and tingling
- Difficulty chewing and speaking
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should speak to your dentist or another medical professional as soon as possible. This is because the earlier that nerve injuries are treated, the less likely they are to be permanent.
Should I Expect Jaw Pain After a Dental Procedure?
It’s fairly common to experience jaw pain and discomfort after surgery – particularly if you’ve undergone prolonged dental procedures. There’s no need to worry though, as it can be managed easily in most cases. You should start to notice the pain subsiding after a few days or weeks – if it doesn’t or it gets worse, we advise speaking to your dentist again for more advice.
You may also feel some discomfort around the surgical site if you received an anaesthetic injection – injection trauma generally presents itself as short-term numbness and tingling (which are also symptoms of nerve damage), rather than pain and soreness. In some cases, you may feel pain in your gums and your jaw.
When Should I Contact My Dentist?
As previously stated, some pain and discomfort are normal after a dental procedure. However, it’s important to know when to contact your dentist or a medical professional if the pain doesn’t subside or gets worse. If you have persistent jaw pain after a dental procedure, you should contact your dentist as soon as possible, as it can have serious ramifications on your oral health.
Strain injuries and chronic TMD pain are particularly associated with lengthy surgeries and third molar removal cases (otherwise known as your wisdom teeth), so if you’ve had this sort of procedure performed, you should contact your dentist straight away. Depending on the type of surgery you’re having, your dentist may allow you to have a break halfway through to rest your mouth and jaw, but this is something you should ask about before the treatment starts.
As part of their aftercare instructions, your dentist should have arranged a series of follow-up appointments to check on your healing and your oral health. You should raise any issues you have with your dentist at this time, although for anything more serious, you should contact them immediately.
What Are the Best Pain Relief Methods for Jaw Pain?
If your jaw has become damaged during dental treatment, it can be exceedingly painful, depending on the type of injury that has been inflicted on you. Correctly managing your jaw pain is essential to avoiding further complications down the line, as well as easing your mood and reducing the painful sensations felt. It’s normal to feel some pain and discomfort in your jaw after a dental procedure has been carried out, which should be temporary.
In these cases, your dentist will usually recommend you try OTC (over-the-counter) analgesics and painkillers to manage pain and inflammation. It’s important to listen to your dentist’s aftercare advice, as your dentist has a duty of care to provide the appropriate advice for you. They should also advise you of any potential risks, side effects and alternative treatments before your procedure, as part of the informed consent process.
We cannot advise on particular over-the-counter pain relievers to take, as some people may have allergies to some painkillers. Whichever medications you decide to take, we recommend speaking to your dentist first to ensure there won’t be any unexpected side effects – you should also ensure you only take the recommended dose.
Your dentist may prescribe prescription medication if they deem it necessary, although this won’t always be the case. However, there are other things you can do to ease your jaw pain. For example, hot and cold compresses can alleviate pain and swelling. You should first apply an ice pack for inflammation reduction – afterwards, placing a warm compress on the area will soothe the muscles.
How Can I Manage a Sore Jaw?
Jaw stiffness and soreness are both common after undergoing oral surgery, which can lead to the condition trismus. Jaw stiffness can take a while to heal – whilst painkillers may help to reduce the sensation of pain, they’re unlikely to actually rectify the issue. However, there are a range of stretching exercises you can do to stretch your mouth and get your jaw moving again properly. If you speak to your dentist, they should be able to advise you on the correct steps to take when dealing with jaw and muscle sprain/strain or lockjaw. Applying heat to the area can also work when dealing with lockjaw.
We also recommend maintaining a soft-food diet for a while until your jaw starts to heal. Soft food is usually recommended after undergoing oral surgery, and eating food with this sort of texture requires less chewing, putting less pressure on your jaw and teeth. For example, foodstuffs like mashed potatoes, smoothies and soup are recommended, as opposed to harder food that requires a lot of chewing.
It’s important to try and limit the use of your jaw and mouth as much as possible during the healing process. We understand that this may be difficult to do, but it will help you to heal more quickly.
Knowing When to Seek Help for Jaw Pain
We hope that after reading through this page, you now have a better understanding of – how to treat jaw pain after dental work. It can be difficult to know whether you need to seek further help from your dentist or whether to try some home remedies and see if the pain disappears on its own. However we recommend that ifIf you’re unsure about your symptoms, it’s always best to consult your dentist to ensure you’re taking the right steps for your health and recovery.
However, if you believe you’ve sustained a jaw injury due to dental negligence, we understand you may not want to return to the same dentist. As the a premier firm of dental solicitors in England and Wales, the Dental Law Partnership can help you to gain justice for the negligence you’ve faced.
If you’d like to find out more about the dental negligence claims process, we’ll be happy to help. Please contact us here or request a callback from an experienced member of our team.