Pain with the jaw clamp

The pain associated with the symptoms of a lockjaw depends on the cause of the symptoms. If the lockjaw is caused by an inflammatory reaction, the patient experiences the typical burning inflammatory pain. This can be caused by an inflammation of the salivary glands or an inflammation of the mucous membranes due to wisdom tooth eruption.

In the case of fractures of the jaw or skull bones such as the zygomatic bone, the pain for the patient has a different quality. The displaced bone parts cause a compression pain and the displaced soft tissue causes a pressure pain. Haematomas resulting from the injury can also trigger a throbbing pressure pain, which is very unpleasant for the affected person.

What symptoms accompany a lockjaw?

A lockjaw is usually a concomitant symptom of a causal disease, which can also cause other symptoms. These include severe pain of varying quality. Depending on the cause of the lockjaw, inflammatory pain, compression pain and pressure pain can occur, all of which can be unbearable.

For this reason, painkillers are also prescribed, which should be taken as needed. Any attempt to open the mouth can trigger the pain symptoms. Due to the anatomical proximity, the pain can radiate into other regions of the head and thus result in headaches or earaches.

Migraine attacks can also be triggered by pain symptoms caused by a jaw clamp. Furthermore, the restricted mouth opening can severely restrict the intake of food. It is often difficult to chew, which is why the affected person switches to soft food. The speech act can also be restricted by the lockjaw, so that a reasonable pronunciation is difficult.

Diagnosis of a jaw clamp

It is easy to diagnose the symptoms of a lockjaw because the patient often directly states that he or she cannot open the mouth as wide, but the diagnosis of the cause is more difficult because there are so many different possible causes. A detailed general examination with X-ray diagnostics or DVT can help to identify the localization of the problem. Fracture injuries are usually clearly identifiable by clinical and radiographic means, while inflammatory reactions are more likely to be revealed by clinical inspection.