What Does It Mean If Only One Side of My Jaw Hurts?

Facial muscles and joints are closely connected – which is why it’s especially confusing when only one side of your jaw hurts! While this doesn’t always indicate you’re experiencing a dental emergency, the underlying problem could impact your quality of life (as well as your stress levels). It’s best to visit your dentist or primary care physician promptly for an official diagnosis.

In the meantime, here’s a list of what your symptoms could mean.

TMJ Disorder

“TMJ” is short for “temporomandibular joint,” which is a small, hinge-like joint near the base of your jaw. A TMJ disorder is when alignment issues or excessive tension impairs how this joint functions or creates chronic discomfort. Even though you do have a TMJ on both sides of your face, the way excessive tension is distributed over your jaw could definitely cause only one TMJ to hurt.

Bruxism (Teeth Grinding & Clenching)

Bruxism often goes hand-in-hand with TMJ disorders, but it is possible to have one problem without the other. Grinding and clenching your teeth puts strain on the TMJ, and depending on how your teeth are positioned, a majority of the strain could be concentrated on either the right or left side of your jaw.

Misaligned Teeth

As touched on with the previous items on this list, the way your teeth are aligned can have an impact on how chewing, grinding, and clenching pressure is distributed. Since teeth are anchored to the jawbone via dental roots, they can also cause pain more directly if they’re crooked. In this case, straightening your smile would benefit your oral health as well as your dental aesthetics.

Sinusitis

This more or less describes what tends to happen when you develop a cold or are struggling with allergies. Inflammation in the sinus cavities (particularly the ones behind your cheeks) causes the organs to exert more pressure on nearby bone and muscles – like your jaw. It’s possible for one sinus cavity to become more inflamed than the other, in which case you might only feel the discomfort on one side of your jaw.

Dental Abscess, Gum Disease, or Cavities

These three are lumped together because they absolutely count as dental emergencies! A dental abscess is an infection that forms a small, pimple-like bump near the gumline that can cause localized discomfort. In severe instances, gum disease can travel to the jaw and damage the bone. A cavity, meanwhile, might make it feel like your jaw is in pain because the nerves in your teeth are quite close to the jawbone.

If you’re not experiencing congestion or other cold symptoms along with your one-sided jaw pain, don’t wait. Schedule an appointment with your dentist so they can help you treat the issue.

About the Author

Dr. Proshat Shahrestany has nearly 20 years of experience in dentistry, and can provide a variety of solutions that are commonly used to treat jaw pain. She can address TMJ disorders with an occlusal splint or equilibration/occlusal adjustment, for example, and is skilled with clear aligner orthodontics. To get to the bottom of your jaw pain, contact Dr. Shahrestany’s office at 818-760-0200.