Pain in my jaw?!
Question: Today the left side of my jaw, right around where it connects to my head hurts a lot. I had slight pain last week with it but it wasn't that bad. today randomly about an hour after i woke up it started hurting a lot. When i chewed gum i could hear my jaw making a sort of popping noise. I've never had problems with it before except for that instance last which which i said. Im only 16 years old so i dont know if certain disorders only affect older people. Could i have something bad? should i wait a couple days and see if it gets better? Cuz right now its really hard to focus in school because of the pain
Answers: Today the left side of my jaw, right around where it connects to my head hurts a lot. I had slight pain last week with it but it wasn't that bad. today randomly about an hour after i woke up it started hurting a lot. When i chewed gum i could hear my jaw making a sort of popping noise. I've never had problems with it before except for that instance last which which i said. Im only 16 years old so i dont know if certain disorders only affect older people. Could i have something bad? should i wait a couple days and see if it gets better? Cuz right now its really hard to focus in school because of the pain
It sounds like TMJ to me (obviously I am not a doctor) but all the signs are there. I suggest seeing a doctor but in the meantime, try freezing a small Dixie bathroom cup full of water and rubbing it on the joint. You can also take some ibuprofen to ease the pain.
Your doctor might refer you to a dentist to get a night guard to keep you from clenching your teeth at night - that really helped me.
Don't eat chewy foods right now, and avoid gum! It's pretty common in older and younger people, I've had TMJ since I was 16 too. (and I'm old now :) )
TMJ = Temporomandibular Joint Disorder
Don't worry, it sounds A LOT scarier than it really is.
(http://www.tmj.org)
I would visit the doctor if I were you;it's possible your jaw is out of place
I'M 15 and I have the same problem, it's called Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Syndrome. It's serious so you need to tell your parents and let them take you to a doctor/dentist/or specialist and they will make sure it's that. For the time being do NOT chew any gum or chewy hard items. Your disk in your jaw has slipped so your jaw bones are hitting eachother.