A week ago my left jaw and chin landed bottom first onto a wooden table. I experienced pain for the first 5 minutes and then did not have any pain the rest of the week. Just the other day I woke up with pain, numbness, and a swollen (no bruising) feeling. I still continue to experience this pain, numbness, limited movement, and swelling feeling on my left jaw. My question here is it possible that my jaw is misaligned. What is weird, that it took 6 days to feel pain, numbness, and that swelling feeling (no bruising) again. I mean wouldn’t it have been consistent, in which I could have felt all this during the past week. If my left jaw were to be out of line, what symptoms are most common and how can I correct my jaw. Would surgery be the only option?

Thanks, Terrance

Dear Terrance,

It is highly possible that you dislocated or even fractured your jaw. A fractured or dislocated jaw can cause difficulty when eating or talking, pain, bleeding, and even airway blockage. Some symptoms of a dislocation are difficulty speaking, teeth feel out of alignment, difficulty closing the mouth, lower jaw may protrude forward, and pain in the face or jaw and gets worse with movement. Signs that your jaw may be fractured are difficulty opening your mouth widely, facial swelling and or bruising, hurts to bite or chew, numbness of the face especially the lower lip, and an abnormal appearance of the cheek or jaw where you hurt yourself. We recommend you seek medical attention immediately to prevent the possibility of breathing problems or bleeding. A physician or oral surgeon can restore your jaw by using his hands to press your jaw back into place, however do not attempt to do this yourself. If your jaw is fractured the only way to repair it is to have your jaw wired shut and if the fracture is unstable surgery will be required.

Post courtesy of Dr. Malone, Lafayette Louisiana Cosmetic Dentist