This is bacterial infection of the bone and can affects your jawbone resulting in jaw pain, fever, and facial swelling. Fortunately, this can be cured with a series of antibiotics.
Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen can help reduce discomfort.
Heat or ice pack application for 10 minutes can help relax overactive jaw muscles and relieve some pain.
Massaging the sore areas, neck, and the TMJ can also provide some temporary immediate relief.
Stress Reduction: if you find yourself chronically stressed, try to incorporate stress-relief into your daily life.
Avoid tough and chewy foods: Excessive use of jaw muscles through eating/chewing chewy, tough, or crunchy foods can also strain your TMJ and lead to pain.
Mouth guard: If the cause of your jaw pain is diagnosed to be from clenching or grinding of your teeth, then your dentist may recommend getting a custom-fitted mouthguard made.
Muscle relaxants: Your dentist may prescribe muscle relaxers to try to relieve muscle tension in the jaw.
Antibiotics: If the pain is a result from a bacterial infection, then your dentist may prescribe antibiotics to combat the infection and aid in healing.
Orthodontic treatment: If malocclusion or teeth misalignment is the cause of your jaw pain then your dentist may need to build crowns or use Invisalign to re-align your teeth.
Botox Injections: In more severe cases where the jaw muscles are chronically clenched, Botox injections may be injected into the jaw muscles as an invasive relaxant. Make an appointment with My Emergency Dentist to consider your options – the staff are happy to help.
