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Jaw Problems After Tooth Extraction and TMJ Disorder

Published on

MARCH 07

2025

About the Author

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Understanding jaw problems after tooth extraction

3. Why Jaw Problems After Tooth Extraction and TMJ Disorder Occur

4. The pain after wisdom tooth extraction

5. What causes jaw pain after wisdom tooth extraction

6. Conclusion

Introduction

Jaw Problems After Tooth Extraction and TMJ Disorder don’t go away easily. There are situations where tooth extraction becomes necessary. If you are someone experiencing jaw problems after tooth extraction, this article is for you.

Understanding jaw problems after tooth extraction

The teeth and the jaw bones form a part of the stomatognathic quad along with the muscles and the airway. A healthy body would always have all 4 in harmony with each other. If either one of these is compromised, the other 3 accommodate and compensate leading to some sort of pathology. A good oral hygiene is a must for optimal TMJ health. Any sort of removal of teeth would always play havoc with a compromised bite leading to severe jaw problems after tooth extraction or a TMJ disorder.

Why Jaw Problems After Tooth Extraction and TMJ Disorder Occur

Teeth are extracted due to various reasons like badly carious teeth, gum infections, fractured teeth, worn out teeth or even unerupted teeth. Unerupted teeth are medically termed as impacted teeth. One of the main reasons for the non-eruption is due to the lack of space in the jawbone. The most common impacted tooth is the famously called Wisdom tooth. It’s the last tooth in the jaw on all 4 sides or the 3rd Molar tooth. It is called a Wisdom tooth because it generally erupts only after the age of 18; the age when society considers that you’ve gained wisdom.

The pain after wisdom tooth extraction

There is a very common misconception that wisdom teeth always need to be extracted even if they haven’t erupted or even if there’s a small chance of eruption possible, leading to many people suffering pain after wisdom tooth extraction.

The reason for this is because unlike other teeth, wisdom teeth while erupting could be painful leading to swelling, infections and lock jaws. These lock jaws are not a TMJ disorder. It’s muscle stiffness caused due to involuntary clenching to conceal the pain and the pressure of the eruption.

What causes jaw pain after wisdom tooth extraction

Wisdom teeth are nowadays removed unscientifically to such an extent that it has affected the human genome with the new generation evolved to have them totally missing! Evolution is beauty.

The whole reason why wisdom teeth aren’t erupting is because there’s no space. So, the solution to the painful impacted wisdom teeth isn’t extraction. But has to be expansion and make space in the jaws. The tongue position is the biggest villain in the growth discrepancy that led to the situation. Train the tongue with some Myo Functional therapy (MFT) and Mewing exercises during the growth stage. If the growth potential isn’t achieved, then extraction would be the solution.

Impacted wisdom teeth don’t per se cause TMJ disorders. It causes facial muscle strain that accentuates the underlying TMD which then increases the pain in the joints. Extraction of wisdom teeth would normally cause more strain and jaw problems after tooth extraction as there would be a reduced opening of mouth and hence, a longer and strenuous surgical procedure. This muscle strain is called Trismus. The patient who has undergone this would also be mentally skeptical of keeping the mouth closed to achieve faster healing. But in fact, it causes further muscle tightening. Hence, opening the mouth the next day after extraction is necessary to keep the muscles from shutting down.

Conclusion

With all things said, being aware of the jaw problems after tooth extraction and TMJ disorder is crucial for you to decide if the extraction is worth it. This is especially important in the case of wisdom tooth extraction. It is important to properly consult with your dentist/orthodontic and follow up with the post-extraction care so that the jaw pain after wisdom tooth extraction is minimal.

The Right Bite Sleep & TMJ Pain Care provides it’s patients with ULF TENS induced Quicksplint© to help with faster muscle healing; depending on the case.

To treat the most complex of TMJ problems, contact us at TMJ India and get your appointment with our TMJ experts today!

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