Lower jaw pain

by Raymond
(Miami, Florida, USA)

A reader has a concern regarding lower jaw pain:

A couple of days ago my mouth started hurting. At first I thought I had a cavity but I used one of those dental mirrors and I could't see any holes or black spots in the tooth. But the pain is really severe. I can see a tooth but not all of it because it's partially under the gum. But my lower jaw hurts really bad and I am getting head aches. What do you think the problem could be?

Dear, Raymond,
Lower jaw pain, like the one you experience, is quite common with erupting wisdom teeth and is due to an inflammation in the gum covering your tooth. I am pretty sure that if you rinse the tooth thoroughly with saline (0.9%) a couple of times a day, you will get rid of the problem. Remember to rinse under the gum that partially covers your tooth! This can be a little painful, but it is important to remove the bacteria that colonize the tooth and cause the inflammation - and also the swelling that severs the pain. If you get severe symptoms, fever or a huge swelling, I will recommend you to visit a dentist, since when you general wellness is affected (not just a local inflammation) it might be necessary with antibiotics. You can also look at another question concering wisdom tooth pain (link coming later today)

Good luck with your lower jaw pain!