The following symptoms and complaints may indicate osteomyelitis of the jaw bones (osteomyelitis of the jaw bones):
The leading symptoms are nonspecific pain and swelling. Depending on the subtype of osteomyelitis, different courses are shown.
Pathognomonic (indicative of disease):
- Sequester formation (dead tissue demarked from healthy tissue) [secondary chronic osteomyelitis].
Characteristic but not pathognomonic:
- Absence of pus (pus), fistula formation, and sequestration [diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis; primary chronic osteomyelitis].
Main symptoms of osteomyelitis of the jaw bones:
- General symptoms such as fever, lymphadenitis (inflammation of the lymph nodes) [acute osteomyelitis].
- Pain
- [minor clinical symptomatology in juvenile chronic osteomyelitis.]
- [acute osteomyelitis]
- Soft tissue swelling [acute osteomyelitis; secondary chronic osteomyelitis in active interval; juvenile chronic osteomyelitis]
- Bone distention
- Proliferating periostitis (periosteitis) with bone apposition [juvenile chronic osteomyelitis].
- Occlusive disorder
- Sensory disturbance – e.g., spontaneous sensory disturbance of the lower lip (Vincent’s symptom) [acute osteomyelitis; secondary chronic osteomyelitis in the active interval].
- Tooth loosening
- Implant loosening
- Fistula formation [secondary chronic osteomyelitis] [absent in primary chronic osteomyelitis].
- Pus leakage from the periodontal crevice (gap between the tooth root and the alveolus (bony tooth compartment) in the jawbone) – “dancing teeth” [acute osteomyelitis]
- Foetor ex ore (bad breath) [acute osteomyelitis; less common in secondary chronic form]
- Exposed bone
- Bone sequestration [absent in primary chronic osteomyelitis].
- Mouth opening obstruction [acute osteomyelitis]
- Permanently present or increasing inflammatory parameters.
Warning signs (red flags)
- Differential: exclusion of malignancies (tumor diseases).
