Introduction
Lower jaw pain can be caused by a variety of factors and can also vary greatly in intensity. However, all forms of jaw pain have one thing in common: they are always extremely stressful for the patient and severely restrict his or her life. Eating, drinking and even speaking can be increasingly hindered by the lower jaw pain.
Possible causes of lower jaw pain
Caries or colloquially “mouth rot” is today one of the most widespread diseases of the teeth and the periodontium and can lead to severe lower jaw pain as soon as teeth of the lower jaw are affected. Since caries is a disease favored by sugary food, the bacteria that cause it belong to a genus that needs carbohydrates to a great extent for survival. These are so-called cariogenic streptococci.
To be able to attach themselves to the surface of the teeth, they have to secrete a sticky, sugar-rich secretion. Furthermore, the bacteria use the sugar (especially glucose) to survive. The bacterial metabolism produces waste products (lactic acid) which damage the tooth substance and are considered the cause of caries.
The lactic acid attacks the tooth enamel and dissolves it. If oral hygiene is inadequate, this inevitably leads to tooth damage. A superficial caries does not lead directly to lower jaw pain, but as soon as the carious defect penetrates into the depth of the tooth and has a negative effect on the nerve fibres of the tooth, lower jaw pain develops.
Root inflammation
An untreated, deep caries is the most common cause of an inflammation of the tooth root, which can lead to severe pain in the lower jaw in the case of teeth of the lower jaw. The caries “works its way” into the depths of the tooth and damages the pulp and the nerve fibres stored in it. The bacteria in the depth of the tooth and lead to inflammatory processes, severe toothache and the progressive dying of the tooth. Lower jaw pain is perceived both in carious defects and in inflammation of the root of the tooth via the large lower jaw nerve (the nervus alveolaris inferior transmits the signal to the nervus mandibularis).
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