Jaw Hardly Able to Open After Wisdom Teeth Removal. PLEASE Help!!!?

Question

I had all 4 my impacted widom teeth removed last Friday. Today is Thursday so it's just about 6 days later. My recovery has been long and very painful. I had terrible body aches and fever too but fortunately this didn't turn out to be an infection or anything - just my individual physical reaction to the anaesthetic.
My surgeon said I had a TMJ problem prior to my surgery and he was hoping that the removal of my wisdom teeth would relieve a lot of the pressure and muscle spasms.
Although I think my "sockets" are healing I still have incredible pain in my jaw (right up to were my cheekbone is). This is sometimes accompanied by a headache in my temple on the same side.
I can still only consume liquid food (yogurt, custard etc) as I can only open my jaw approx 2cm. I was battling to open my jaw properly BEFORE the surgery (apparently as a result of the TMJ) but it was never as bad as this.
Is this normal? Will it ease up as I heal? How long will it take before I can open my mouth?

Answer 1

You may need to be prescribed some muscle relaxers to help you along. For now take the Advil or Motrin for inflammation in your joint and use hot moist compresses (damp towel in the microwave works great) several times a day as warm as you can stand it on both sides at the same time. While using the warm compresses, try to open and close several times expanding a little wider each time. It's going to be difficult at first, but the sooner you get the muscle relaxed from the exercise and compresses, the better your going to feel. This is common with wisdom teeth extractions even without TMJ problems added to it just from having to be open so wide for the removal. If you were having problems before, then it's no wonder your locked up. So your case is going to require a little help to correct.

If the Motrin, moist hot compresses and exercise don't give you any relief in 2 more days then I would suggest that you return to your dentist or OS for an exam. The "pad" in your jaw, that rest in between, and aids the lubrication of where the maxillary and mandibular joint (just below the temple area) meet, may have slipped out of place and needs to be slipped back in to position. It's when the pad's position is off, and the bones are rubbing together, that patients get into the locked position, either open or closed. It's not something that you can force into the correct position either, it takes a doctor to do it.

So hopefully the hot moist compresses, medication and exercise will get you open again. It usually does in most cases of TMJ. Hope I've been of some help and good luck.

Answer 2

I actually had a very bad experience. I did not have my jaw broke however when my last wisdom tooth came in it was infected. The oral surgion put me on antibiotics before he could pull it. This however didn't work and he pulled it anyway. The infection then moved to my throat. I was 18 weeks pregnant, couldn't open my mouth due to lock jaw from the infection. Ended up having 3 different surgeries on my throat. I am now left with a huge disgusting scar on my neck. Although i was told by the two docs that cared for me at this time that keeping your wisdom teeth is like playing russian roullette with your life. So if you have a dentist that says you have room for your wisdom teeth and there is no reason to pull them I would strongly suggest you get a second oppinion. However reather or not it could break your jaw, I have heard that like the others said, if you have a good dentist you should not have any problems getting them pulled. I would do some research on dentists though. Had I done that i wouldn't have had the problems I did.

Answer 3

TMD or TMJ is not really curable. Surgery is the only thing to really fix it BUT it is expensive and surgery is only done in Extreme circumstances. So it is something you pretty much have to live with.
Before I had my wisdom teeth removed I was fine. but 1 month after surgery I woke up and could not open my mouth even wide enough to eat a sandwich! I kept rubbing my jaw and used advil and eventually I was able to open a little more, enough to eat normally again. I talked with my dentists and there is nothing to do. The only thing to do is massage your jaw, take advil, etc., don't lean on your jaw, do not chew gum ever again, and consider a mouth guard at night. Also use a hot or cold pack on your jaw to loosen the joint and relax the muscles.
Contact your dentist and/or oral surgeon to discuss it if it doesn't improve after a few weeks of doing the above suggestions.

Answer 4

Only your oral surgeon can answer the questions as to how long it will last. However, in the mean time, if you can get some feverfew capsules at a health food store, start taking one a day. That should prevent the headaches from occurring. It won;t do anything to a current headache but is a preventive measure rather than a cure. Take one a day - permanently. You won't have any more headaches - ever.