Do you suffer from jaw pain and/or blockage? In these times of COVID-19 pandemic, here are some tips to help you while your dentist can not receive you in office.
It is important to understand the source of your discomfort. It usually comes from disorders affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), jaw muscles and nerves on one or both sides of the head, which result in jaw, face and head disorders as well as neck pain. Most of the people affected by these disorders present a combination of the following factors: a displaced TMJ disk, an occlusal balance disturbed by dental interferences and stress.
Main symptoms
The pain and discomfort caused by these disorders can be mild to severe, intermittent or constant, and can last for many years. The main symptoms of temporomandibular disorders are:
- Jaw pain or discomfort, especially in the morning or late afternoon;
- Jaw clicking when opening or closing mouth;
- Sensitive teeth despite the absence of dental problems;
- Earache in absence of an infection;
- Buzzing or clogged ear sensation;
- Difficulty opening and closing your mouth and/or chewing;
- Not properly aligned upper and lower teeth;
- Rigidity or feeling that the jaw is "blocked" when speaking, yawning or eating;
- Jaw pain when chewing, biting or yawning;
- Recent changes to occlusion;
- Frequently waking up with headaches or suffering from headaches due to tension.
First line tips
Before starting any treatment, it is necessary to adopt the following habits in order to reduce the pain as much as possible:
- Eat soft food;
- Don't chew gum;
- Apply warm wet compresses to the affected area;
- Do not clench your teeth (keep your mouth soft like a teenager would ๐);
- Minimize coffee, sugar, alcohol and tobacco consumption;
- Do not bite your nails and avoid any other bad oral habits;
- Massage and stretch (look for videos on YouTube);
- Practice meditation and other relaxation techniques;
- Move, be physically active;
- Occupy your mind elsewhere (easier said than done in these times of confinement!)
Medication
If the pain persists and is intolerable despite the adoption of the previous habits, it's time to opt for a drug treatment.
- Start with ibuprofen or acetaminophen. At this time, Health Canada has not issued a specific guideline for anti-inflammatory drugs and COVID-19 contamination, but other indicators recommend, pending more clinical data, to limit the use of ibuprofen (Advil) and to instead favour acetaminophen (Tylenol);
- If the pain still persists, opt for a medication that relieves pain while relaxing muscles like Robax, Robax Platinum (beware, this one contains ibuprofen) or Robaxacet;
- If this is still insufficient, your dentist, following a virtual remote consultation, could prescribe a drug more suited to your situation.
- Any other combination of medication previously used for the same problem can also be considered to provide relief.
Drugstore devices
The medication isnโt helping you out? Some dental protection devices sold in drugstores can briefly help you reduce the effects of teeth grinding at night (bruxism), such as Grind No More and The Doctor's NightGuard. Note that these devices cannot be considered as a long-term solution, because used over long periods of time, they cause the appearance of bad habits (more present teeth clenching, nibbling, etc.). It then becomes more harmful to wear them than to wear nothing at all.
If you already have a custom occlusal appliance made by your dentist and you feel like you are clenching more than usual, there may be too much contact between your posterior teeth, which stimulates the muscles. It is also possible that your stress level is just too high at this time given the situation. Stress management solutions are therefore to be preferred.
Once the crisis is over
Once the coronavirus crisis will be over and regular medical and dental services will be available again, you will first need to consult your doctor in order to obtain a more advanced diagnostic and eliminate any possible medical cause for the experienced pain. It is also recommended to consult a dentist who has developed expertise or experience in treating occlusion and TMJ problems in order to obtain appropriate care.