Jaw pain, ear pain and a mouth that won’t open

The jaw joints, called the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), sit just in front of each ear. When a joint or the chewing muscles around it are strained, the pain is often felt in the ear. Many people with a jaw problem first think they have an ear infection.

Problems with these joints and muscles are called temporomandibular disorders, or TMD. TMD is a group of more than 30 conditions, and most of them are not serious.

Signs of TMD

  • pain around the jaw, the ear or the temple
  • earache, buzzing or a feeling of fullness in the ear, with no ear infection
  • clicking, popping or grating when you open or close your mouth
  • difficulty opening your mouth fully, or a jaw that locks
  • headaches, or pain that spreads along the cheek or into the neck
  • pain that is worse when you chew or when you are stressed

Clicking on its own, without pain, is common and does not need treatment.

Common causes

TMD is linked to grinding or clenching the teeth, often at night. Other triggers are a knock to the face, a very wide yawn, biting on something hard, stress and an uneven bite. Often more than one of these is involved.

Other reasons a mouth won’t open

A stiff jaw is not always TMD. An infected wisdom tooth can stop the mouth opening, and so can the first few days after a wisdom tooth is taken out. A broken jaw also limits opening.

See a dentist the same day if the stiffness comes with swelling of the face, a high temperature or a bad taste in the mouth. If you have difficulty swallowing or breathing, go to a hospital emergency department straight away.

What helps at home

TMD often gets better on its own within a few weeks, though for some people it lasts a few months. While it settles:

  • eat soft food for about two weeks, and cut harder food into small pieces
  • hold a warm or cold pack, whichever feels better, against the sore side for 10 to 20 minutes, a few times a day
  • take paracetamol or ibuprofen if they are safe for you
  • do not chew gum, bite your nails or pen tops, or bite food with your front teeth
  • support your jaw with your hand when you yawn
  • rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth with your teeth slightly apart, which lets the jaw muscles relax

When to see us

Book an appointment if you cannot eat or drink normally, if the pain is spoiling your sleep, if your mouth is opening less than before, or if the pain keeps coming back.

How TMD is treated

Treatment starts with the simplest steps and moves on only if they do not help. A bite evaluation, and an MRI or CT scan when needed, show what is happening in the joint. Jaw exercises and physiotherapy help many people. Some patients wear a splint, a mouth guard worn at night, and TENS therapy is sometimes used for pain. When the disc inside the joint has slipped out of place and limits opening, arthrocentesis can reduce pain and improve opening. In this procedure the joint is washed out with fluid through a needle. Results vary from person to person.

Treatments that permanently change the teeth or the bite, such as grinding teeth down, are not recommended for TMD.

The treatments we offer are listed on our TMJ care page. Call +91 70171 40563 to book.

This article is general information. It does not replace an examination.

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