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Is it Wisdom tooth or TMJ?
Please read the entire situaton before responding.
So i've got a partially erupted wisdom tooth that hasn't caused any problems in over a year. A few days ago I woke up with extreme pain and throbbing in the entire left side of my mouth. Not a big deal I thought, it will go away - it's just my tooth coming in. The pain spanned my whole left side of my jaw area BUTthe pain was definitely centralized in that tooth area.
A day or two passes and the pain started to die down a bit, but all of the sudden I can't open my mouth more than about a half inch. When trying to open it, I get about halfway or less and something tightens up on my jaw (muscle or other connective tissue) and causes tremendous pain right there by the tooth. I can relax my jaw, and pain goes away now. All in all this has been a week, but jaw probs for about 5 days of that. I don't grind my teeth that I am aware of.
Now i've done some research and I'm having trouble figuring out if this is my tooth, or TMJ/TMD. I'm not good at going to docs or dentists like I should and I've moved towns and several years has passed since I went to either so I don't have a "regular" doc or dentist.
Should I go to the Dentist because I thought this all started from my tooth, or a Doctor because my mouth won't open? I'm worried if I go to a dentist that they won't be able to do much of anything because I can't open...
2 Answers
- Durable MedLv 710 years agoFavorite Answer
Sounds like more than one issue, but you know that.
Doesn't sound like classic TMJ, with such an acute onset.
But those are likely to be the ones involved, just not a TMJ fashion.
Sometimes you can make the Massiter relax a bit by running your tongue along the roof of your mouth.
Along with the other things, you could have a secondary infection in your maxillary sinus, with it seeming like a tooth issue.
Ya know, SOMETHING in there is red and inflamed. And it really shouldn't be that hard to see.
I suggest you have a friend look in there with a flashlight first. And then decide if the 'red' is at the tooth or not. Might even probe around with the rounded part of a toothbrush handle. You should have more information that way.
Do you floss? It could (not as likely) be originating from a piece of popcorn hull lodged in some sensitive gum tissue.
- ?Lv 45 years ago
I would reccomend a general anesthesia for your extractions. Just for the simple fact that your mouth will need to opened wide enough to extract the teeth. A local will not relieve TMJ pain. Talk to your dentist about fabricating a night guard for you. Sometimes this can relieve some of the tension put on to the TMJ. There are many different causes for disfunction of your TMJ. Grinding and clenching seems to come out on top from my personal experience. Having one of these appliances made is a simple procedure. At your first visit impressions will be taken of your upper and lower teeth. The following visit your appliance will be tryed in and you should walk out of the office with it. I hope this will help. Usually the last resort would be to see an oral surgeon. Good luck!
