Help - mild TMJ flaring due to root canal therapy.

[findingthesun]

I am currently in the inbetween stages of getting a root canal and crown (I have to wait until the 5th to finish my root canal up, currently it has a temp filling with medication inside to clean out the infection, and once that is set then the whole permanent crown this comes next). This unfortunately has caused an unexpected issue: my jaw is starting to hurt.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to ease the pain? I never usually have issues or need intervention because if one side of my jaw gets tired and sore, I just use the other side. My doctor advised me not to eat on the side with the filling, so I'm not entirely sure what to do.

 

[Jenny_Lou82]

Take some anti-inflammatories (as long aren't allergic). Ibuprofen is the most readily available (motrin if you're in the USA I think) and is pretty effective for joint pains.

You could try a warm compress on the side that hurts as well. And try to eat soft foods that don't need much chewing, at least for a couple of days until the stiffness and pain wears off.

 

[geos]

If it's your TMJ and not the root canal treatment causing the pain, maybe an RMT (registered massage therapist) could help you relieve from those symptoms. I don't know if all RMT's are trained to treat TMJ, but massage to the exterior and interior of the mouth during a treatment could help.