Quick, sharp jaw pain

[Laura86]

Hello,
I have experienced some sharp, quick pain that lasts for only a couple of seconds at a time and happened maybe 2-3 times last night, and 2-3 times two nights before that. It didn’t happen on the day in between, and isn’t frequent or constant. It is happening on the lower left side, and it starts either near my first molar and shoots towards the front (then stops) or towards the front and shoots towards the back and stops. I can’t tell whether it’s radiating through my teeth or jaw, and doesn’t seem to be affecting just one tooth. My teeth don’t seem to have any particular sensitivity or any issues when I chew- all that seems to be as normal. As mentioned, it’s short lasting and infrequent.

I have also had a lot of anxiety and stress lately (though as far as I know I’ve never been a teeth grinder), as well as more sneezing than usual, a bit of pain in/under the cheekbone (sinus pain?), and the usual ear-related symptoms that I have with a cold/sinus issues. Could these be the cause? I had comprehensive dental x-rays and examination just before Christmas that came up with no dental problems, and my (very thorough) dentist said they didn’t need to see me for another year.. so would I be right in doubting that a dental problem would suddenly have come up in such a short time period?

Thanks so much for any advice!
Laura

 

[Laura86]

Just to add, I can’t see anything visibly wrong and I’m only 33 so probably a bit young for trigeminal neuralgia.

 

[LittleLynnie]

I had trigeminal neuralgia at 23. It happened about a month after a root canal. I hope that you don't have it too. Hopefully, it will not happen again.

 

[Laura86]

Thanks for letting me know. There could be some irritation in the nerve- I had my wisdom teeth out last year and the lower left one (the section I’m talking about) had to be removed by a specialist oral surgeon because it was close to a nerve as well as being only partially erupted. I didn’t have any issues with the recovery of that one compared to the others, but maybe the bone is still fixing itself/adjusting a bit 8 months later because of the extra work and proximity to the nerve? As mentioned though, x-rays taken just before Christmas were all clear, and the pain is short, infrequent, and relatively mild.

 

[Gordon]

Hi Laura, it's quite likely to be the bone still remodelling itself after all the surgery, although you're not a grinder, you probably are a clenched, so that could be causing some symptoms too, if you're a bit more stressed than normal at the moment.
It's not neuralgia, the symptoms don't suit at all.

 

[Laura86]

Thanks so much, that helps a lot