Trismus (Lock Jaw) caused by wisdom tooth - how serious is it?!
Question: I'm 21 years old. Two of my wisdom teeth (third molars) came through on my left side over a year ago with no problems.
Now a wisdom tooth has come through on my right side. It was pretty painful coming through, but now I can feel the top surface and it doesn't appear to be impacted (there seems to be room for it and it appears to have come through 'straight'). The pain in the gum has died down but I have some pain swallowing and my jaw is very stiff and I cannot open my mouth wide at all.
Presumably I have some sort of infection or at least inflammation going on. The question is... if the tooth appears to be through normally, should this pain pass and not require the extraction of my tooth?
I have a dental appt booked for in a weeks time, and if I get severe swelling or anything I'll make sure I seek medical advice. I'm just hoping I won't have to have my tooth extracted (bad previous experience!)
Thanks
Answers: I'm 21 years old. Two of my wisdom teeth (third molars) came through on my left side over a year ago with no problems.
Now a wisdom tooth has come through on my right side. It was pretty painful coming through, but now I can feel the top surface and it doesn't appear to be impacted (there seems to be room for it and it appears to have come through 'straight'). The pain in the gum has died down but I have some pain swallowing and my jaw is very stiff and I cannot open my mouth wide at all.
Presumably I have some sort of infection or at least inflammation going on. The question is... if the tooth appears to be through normally, should this pain pass and not require the extraction of my tooth?
I have a dental appt booked for in a weeks time, and if I get severe swelling or anything I'll make sure I seek medical advice. I'm just hoping I won't have to have my tooth extracted (bad previous experience!)
Thanks
It sounds like you've figured out that the tooth itself is OK and the problem is in the jaw... and you're right if the condition gets worse you should see a dentist immedialtely. With that being said, I don't think you have anything to worry about until your appointment. It sounds like your tooth erupting has caused you to have a mild case of TMD. You can ease the pain by taking an over the counter anti-inflammitory (like ibuprofin) and applying a warm, moist cloth to your jaw to kind of 'loosen' the muscles. The pain is most likely coming from the pressure being put on the joint in the jaw (TMJ) from the tooth entering the mouth. It may eventually subside but you'll probably see the dentist before it does. Good luck, and I hope this helped!
well i would say that they will tell you that you need it removed...srry thats just the way the cookie crumbles...at least that why you can open ur mouth
I have a very similar problem with my jaw. I have Tempromandular joint disorder(TMJ).This happens to most people and some go through life without doing anything about and are fine. Mine was severe and resulted in dislocation of the left side of my jaw and partial dislocation on the other. Their are easy ways to fix this just see your dentist and he might get you a mouth guard or something to stop this from happening.
Your jaw problems may have nothing to do with your tooth