Jaw pain is described to any type of discomfort felt in the areas of the jaw including the lower jaw ( or jaw bone), tempomandibular joint (TMJ) and the soft tissues surrounding the jaw. The temporal bone of your skull is connected to the lower jaw through the temporomandibular joint and is responsible for aligning the lower and upper jaws together. This part of the head is the most used joints in the entire body.
Jaw pain can be felt suddenly or build up through the course of time depending on what’s causing it. A person experiencing jaw pain can feel an ache that can be so painful you might not be able to open your mouth. There are many activities that can cause jaw pain like swallowing, eating or touching the areas of the jaw.
The most common reason for jaw pain is too much stress on the temporomandibular joint that can lead to a disorder (TMD). These joints are on each side of the head in front of the ear. There are tendons, muscles, ligaments and soft tissues that surround this joint. TMD can also be caused by injury, disease and some wear and tear of the joint around the soft tissue.
There are also times when jaw pain is a sign of many diseases, conditions and disorders. There are some mild conditions like teeth grinding excessive yawning that can cause jaw pain. Serious conditions like rheumatoid, infection, neuralgia and arthritis may also cause jaw pain. Jaw pain is also a good sign of an impending heart attack.
If you experience jaw pain along chest pain or a pain that you can feel radiating to your arm and your shoulder accompanied by sweating and shortness of breath; it might be a heart attack. You should call a hospital because it is a life threatening emergency.
If you are in a foreign country like Africa, you should always consult a professional when you are experiencing jaw pain. There are many dentists and professionals that can provide assistance and can help you identify the cause of your jaw pain. It’s important to remember that jaw pain can be very serious so you should not ignore it.
In Africa, there are many tribe doctors or healers that can take a look at you and give you some herbal medicine to take to help alleviate the pain. This should only be a temporary fix to numb the pain that you are feeling especially if it’s severe. A dentist or a doctor is needed to give you proper medication and tell you why you are experiencing this kind of pain.
Since Africa is an undeveloped country, you should look for volunteer dentists that can take a look at your jaw. There are many volunteers coming in from different parts of the world that offer free professional help for the people in Africa. These professionals often do their job for free but they do welcome donations to fund their operations. There are also dentists and doctors who choose to stay and work for the people in Africa.
