What Is a Jaw Infection and What Does It Feel Like?

What Is A Jaw Infection and What Does it Feel Like

Jaw pain can result from any number of things including medical conditions like arthritis and heart disease. Jaw pain can be very uncomfortable and may be continuous or intermittent. Most jaw issues require the attention of a medical professional for diagnosis and treatment unless you have sudden pain after eating something very hard, at which point the pain should subside on its own.

Sometimes, an infection called osteomyelitis can develop in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) with symptoms of facial swelling, pain in the jaw and face, and fever. If treatment is not received in a timely manner, antibiotics may not be effective and part of the jaw bone can actually begin to die.

TMJ issues can lead to long-term damage so it is important to seek medical attention as soon as you notice something wrong. In the event that you have a dental abscess, your dentist can relieve pain by draining the abscess and prescribing a round of antibiotics. Without proper care, the affected tooth may need to be extracted to prevent the infection from spreading deeper into the jaw bone.

Pain from a jaw infection can radiate down into the neck and up to the ears, head, and even the eyes. If you suspect that you have a jaw infection, you may experience symptoms including pain and swelling in the jaw, neck or face; tender and swollen gum tissue; and sensitivity to hot and cold foods and beverages and/or sugar.

What is a dental abscess?
An abscess is a pocket of pus that forms at either the tip of or next to a tooth root. When a dental cavity forms or a tooth is fractured, the bacteria in the mouth can enter through the damaged enamel and dentin into the pulp of the tooth. The pulp is the tissue containing the nerves and blood flow in each canal of a tooth root.

Caught early, an abscess can usually be drained and treated with antibiotics. If it is more severe, it may need to be treated with root canal therapy where an endodontist creates an access hole in the tooth and cleans out each canal to remove the infected pulp tissue.

The pain from a dental abscess can radiate into your face and jaw, causing facial swelling, swollen lymph nodes, and even fever. You may develop a visible bump in the gum tissue beside the tooth. Without treatment, the bacteria from an abscess can get into your bloodstream and travel to other parts of your body, putting you at risk for other illnesses.

If the abscess ruptures, you will likely experience immediate relief from jaw pain. Relief from a ruptured abscess is temporary because the pocket will refill with pus so an abscess should always be treated by a medical professional. If you allow the abscess to rupture and do not seek medical attention, the abscess will reform.

Your dentist may be able to treat certain conditions that affect the jaw including those that also affect the head and neck. If you need specialized care, they will refer you to a specialist such as an oral surgeon or otolaryngologist and may even refer you to a physical therapist. Any jaw or mouth pain should be addressed by your dentist as soon as possible to prevent further and possibly permanent damage.