• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

TMJ Flare up or toothache??!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter JustMe1972
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    tmj
J

JustMe1972

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
37
I am currently going through a severe (I think) TMJ flare up. Pressure through my upper teeth, cheek, sinuses, eye. My neck and shoulder hurt. The gland behind my ear swelled and was painful, then went back to normal. Now my occipital lymph node is swollen and tender. I also have a tender spot of my lower jaw bone that if I massage takes the pain/pressure away for a few minutes, As does putting my thumb in my mouth to stretch out my cheek. Thankfully, at night the pain in minimal, so I have been sleeping well. I am currently taking 600 ibuprofen and 500 paracetamol every 6 hours, but the pain is still lingers through the day. My dentist is on vacation until next week, so I can't go to get checked if it is a toothache. So I guess my question is, can a tooth infection present with all these symptoms, or as I suspect it is a flare up?
 
Sounds more like your TMJ than a tooth. Normally a tooth would be easy enough to pinpoint, not causing issues all over the place like you describe.
 
@Gordon Am I correct in assuming that rubbing along the jaw, or rubbing a tender spot on my scalp, or turning my head where I feel like my neck/shoulder muscle pulls tight wouldn't affect an infected tooth? As in, when I do those things, the pain and pressure along my upper teeth eases off for a minute or two? The pain also seems to ease off and or go away later in the evening and I don't really have any overnight. That could be the drugs though. lol
 
Yes, usually toothache is worse when you lie down, probably due to increased blood flow.
 
Back
Top