Thanks
@CourageAndBraveryASAP and
@letsconnect . I suppose maybe I should see a GP. I'm almost as bad at going to them as I am with dentists. It took me a year of living where I am to register with one, and that's the only time I've been. Maybe I could email the dentist first and see what he suggests ? My next appointment with him is in 2 weeks for the other root canal and I'd like it to be better by then. That was the next available time when I was free, so I don't even think he'd be able to see me before that if he needed to. I just feel like they'll reply again that I've not to worry, jaw pain is normal.
But if something simple like muscle relaxers could help then it would be silly for me not to do anything.
I'll try warm compresses. Ibuprofen hasn't done much and I haven't bothered taking it a lot because it doesn't hurt when I don't try to move it anyway. And I wondered if ibuprofen would actually improve anything or just mask the pain, meaning I might move it in a way I shouldn't because the pain isn't stopping me. Then I started worrying that the only way to fix it would be for someone to break my jaw and put it back in place. I know all of that is just in my mind and has no real basis. I should ask the expert rather than listen to myself!
This is the same for me, it's happened a couple of times when eating. For moving my jaw forward, it's less pain and more like it just physically refuses to move, even if I were to try and force it. I don't have any tooth pain at all. Hope yours gets sorted soon too!