Jaw Pain When Opening Mouth

Whether it's eating or talking, we are constantly using our mouth and jaws. However, there are certain conditions that can lead to jaw pain. These conditions can be due to purely dental reasons or at times, may also occur due to systemic conditions. Given below are the various causes and treatment options for pain in jaw when opening mouth.

Causes and Treatment

Wisdom Teeth Infection
One of the most common cause of pain in jaw when opening mouth is infection of wisdom teeth. This is generally caused due to tooth decay. When a wisdom tooth gets infected, then the caries progress at a very fast rate, because it is not very easy to maintain oral hygiene as the wisdom tooth region is relatively difficult to access. This leads to a wisdom teeth swelling, which in turn causes jaw pain. In most cases, there will not only be pain in the jaw while opening but there will even be restricted mouth opening. The treatment for such cases will consist of getting the wisdom tooth treated, or better still extracted. However, this should ideally be done under a cover of antibiotics so as to restrict the spread of infection.

TMJ Dysfunction
Another cause of jaw pain when opening mouth wide is a temporomandibular joint disorder. A temporomandibular joint disorder occurs when the bones that articulate between the jaw and the skull are adversely affected. There are many conditions that can affect the temporomandibular joint, like arthritis, osteoarthritis, etc. At other times, even an ear infection can lead to radiating pain in the region of the jaw. There may be other conditions that can lead to pain in the jaw region, like trauma, stress, constant teeth grinding, etc. Trauma, that may be direct or indirect, can easily lead to jaw pain. The treatment for this will consist of treating the underlying cause. Thus, if the problem is due to a degenerative disease like arthritis, then the treatment will consist of limiting this condition. In case of trauma, there may be need to treat the patient on an emergency basis.

Muscular Disorder
Another cause of pain when opening the mouth is the presence of any muscular disorder. Sometimes, there may be conditions where the muscles of the jaw are very unyielding, thus, making it difficult to open and close the mouth easily. As the muscles are in a state of contraction, the amount of mouth opening will also be restricted. In other cases, over stretching the lower jaw beyond its limit can cause damage to the muscles of the face and so, over time, the person may have jaw pain. The treatment in such conditions will consist of giving muscle relaxants and doing certain jaw exercises to help slowly train the muscles to not stay in a contracted state.

Other Causes
There are many other causes that can lead to some amount of jaw pain on opening the mouth. There are many systemic conditions that can also lead to pain around the mouth and jaw region on opening the mouth. These include tetanus, strychnine poisoning, tonsillitis, mumps, cancrum oris, peritonsillar abscess, scleroderma, fits, etc. These conditions are all systemic conditions that affect the jaw or the muscles of the jaw. The treatment for these conditions will vary accordingly.

This is a condition that needs to be taken seriously, because if not treated in time, it can lead to irreversible damage to the jaw and related structures.