jaw hinge pain after dental work?

[kirstenb1]

It's been 30 yrs since I had a filling, thank goodness!! But a week ago I had a whopper of a cavity under an old filling. The dentist numbed me up with lidocaine and got to work drilling out the old filling, and then packing a new one. The procedure took an hour. Where my jaw hinges is sore both when I open and close my mouth. Ironically, it's on the opposite side of the filling. Has anyone else had this? One thing that took a while was filing down the filling after it had hardened. She kept having me bite down on this blue paper to check my bite. The filling feels fine, and I think she filed it down enough, because my teeth meet. Maybe this pain will just go away soon? Has anyone else had this happen?

 

[Frantasmic]

Dental chairs and visits with prolonged mouth openings always wreak havoc with my neck and therefore my jaw.

When I had gum surgery, my jaw muscles were so rigid I had to get some muscle relaxant drugs.

So, yes, it does happen to some people.

Worst case with me was about 4-5 days of intense, throbbing pain followed by 2 weeks of lessened pain.

 

[4nana]

It sounds as tho your jaw was over stressed and I would recommend research on TMJ (temporomandibular), the joint where the upper and lower jaws meet. I suffer occasionally from dental work, use warm compresses and anti inflammatory (motrin/aleve) meds help mine. Those who grind teeth wear appliances/mouth guards at night to help alleviate. Good luck and pls called your dentist if problem continues so you don't keep suffering.

 

[Muushka]

A few years ago I had 2 crowns done (in one visit).
There is something called a bite block that my former dentist should have had me use, but didn't.
Subsequently I had big problems. I could not open my mouth for about 6 weeks (well open it more than about a half inch).

The dentist took no resposibility and offered no advice.

A very kind dental hygiest here on the DIS offered great advice and eventually it improved.

To this day I still have jaw problems.

All of that to say, if you have dental work done, ask for the bite block. Good luck!

 

[kirstenb1]

Thank you all!! I'll try the compresses/Aleve, and def ask for the bite block if I have more work in the future. Talk about an incentive for better brushing and flossing!!

 

[mom2rtk]

A few years ago I had 2 crowns done (in one visit).
There is something called a bite block that my former dentist should have had me use, but didn't.
Subsequently I had big problems. I could not open my mouth for about 6 weeks (well open it more than about a half inch).

The dentist took no resposibility and offered no advice.

A very kind dental hygiest here on the DIS offered great advice and eventually it improved.

To this day I still have jaw problems.

All of that to say, if you have dental work done, ask for the bite block. Good luck!

I tried the bite block on my last visit. I just hated it. I'm not sure what the problem was, I think it made me feel like I couldn't swallow or something and I felt like I was gagging.

I can see where it would be really helpful though if you could tolerate it.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

I had the same thing happen once after a root canal. What had happened with me was after the surgeon was done, I was still really numb. I couldn't feel that my bottom jaw was not where it was supposed to be and closed my mouth. I remember that I heard a grinding sound at that moment, but of course I was numb so didn't feel anything wrong. The next day my jaw hurt so bad! The pain went away after a few days, but yeah if I were you and the pain persists for more than a couple of days I'd call your dentist.