how can u tell if its your heart or maybe a tooth problem?

Question

i have been having some worry about my jaw has been bothering me it has been for months but is worse now it happens at anytime and lasts for a while i notice on excertion also i do have 2 bad teeth on my bottom jaw but i take ibuprofin and it doesnot always make the discomfort go away if it were my heart this has been going on for months so could it be angina or sign of a heart attack or bad teeth i do get skipped beats and it scares me let me know what you think a doctor is out of the question i have tried to make an appt after katrina things have changed here due to loose of doctors and the free clinics are booked for 6 months waiting time so i am at a loss thanks so much

Answer 1

If you have a couple of bad teeth, it can definitely make your jaw hurt. Even if you have to wait for an appointment, I would make one with a dentist as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that infections in our mouths can affect our bloodstream and even our heart. The skipped beats you are talking about are probably just from stress, but it is a good idea to get it checked by your doctor. Once again, even if it takes a while to get an appointment, you should go ahead and make an appointment with a regular doctor, as well. Nothing is more important than your health. Treat it with a priority. If you start to have sever pain, heaviness in your chest or trouble breathing, go to the emergency room. Hopefully it won't come to that. Good luck.

Answer 2

If it's been going on for months without any other real cardiac symptoms, it most likely is a toothache, not your heart. But, I'm not a doc, and wouldn't diagnose that simply. If you've been taking ibuprofen for a toothache for that long, your body is probably building up a tolerance to it - so it's not going to continue to work as effectively as before. There are minor toothaches that ibuprofen will help, and then there are the killer toothaches that you take vicodin or percocet for...
My understanding of the jaw pain as a symptom of a heart attack is that it's an ACUTE symptom - will last for the duration of the heart attack, not long term. But... no medical degree here.
Have you considered the ER? I know it's probably got a horrible wait time, but at least you could get some testing done and rule out any heart problems. And, if it's tooth related, they may have an emergency dental clinic at the hospital that they can get you in to much quicker than a regular dentist. If not, they could at least give you a prescription for painkillers for the times when the ibuprofen doesn't help.

Answer 3

Bad Teeth May Signal Risk For Heart Attack
Elderly persons with active root caries, a type of tooth decay, have an increased risk of having irregular heart beats.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society- A total of 125 generally healthy individuals over the age of 80, living in urban, community-based populations were examined. Researchers discovered that persons with three or more active root caries had more than twice the odds of cardiac arrhythmias of those without.
They have recently concluded that regular old plaque on teeth no matter your age can also be signs of plaque build up on your heart. This is a leading cause for heart attack.
I do not know how old you are but bad teeth can send infection throughout your whole body including your heart causing severe damage.
The next time you are in pain either from your teeth or your heart skipping beats go to the emergency room and let them diagnose you. What you don't know can kill you. If neccessary go to another city to have this done. Emergency rooms can't have waiting lists...
Good luck.

Answer 4

true cardiac chest pain is not relieved with ibuprofen. it usually has a crushing type pain in chest sometimes a heaviness, has been described as a heartburn type pain that radiates to jaw and can mimic tooth ach if there is any question you should see a doctor even if you have to go to emergency room