Tooth pain coming from tight jaw muscles
Pain felt in the tooth could be a referred pain from a tight muscle(s). This video has some advice if your dentist has ruled out an issue in the tooth.
Prefer to read? Jump below for my summery of the video.
Links from the video:
Direct link to get the free video training to learn about one jaw muscle: self-massage, stretching and referral pains, as well as one bad habit to adjust now to reduce neck and jaw pain.
Tooth pain referred from a tight muscle
Did your dentist rule out tooth damage and can't find the source of your tooth pain? It might be coming from a tight muscle. Muscles referring pain into the teeth isn’t commonly examined at or treated in the dental office even though your dental team is aware of it.
What is a trigger point?
Trigger points are localized areas within muscle bellies or attachments which, when sufficiently provoked, produce a referral pattern to a target zone. The pain pattern may include pain, tingling, numbness, itching or other sensations.
Trigger points may restrict movement or cause muscle weakness.
In the jaw area, if you complain of those things, it might add to the diagnosis by your doctor of tempromandibular disorder, or TMD.
Refer into a tooth
Trigger points can refer into the teeth. Some of my clients can name off a specific tooth, or a range of teeth. Some identify the feeling more in the root or in the gums. Here are 3 muscles that can refer into teeth (there are more). More trigger point images can be seen in the full video.
Temporalis
One trigger point of masseter
This is a jaw closer and clencher muscle located on the side of your head over the ear area and attaches on the lower jaw, or the mandible.
Temporalis will refer pain into any upper teeth.
Other patterns from temporalis will be local on the muscle belly, headache or sinus pressure over the eye & spilling into the cheek.
Masseter
This is your big cheek muscle and is also another jaw closer and clencher.
The teeth it will refer into are the rear upper and lower teeth. These are your top and bottom molars.
Other pain patterns to note are in the cheek, ringing in the ear, pain in the ear or TMJ, and a headache arch over the eye.
Digastric
It will refer pain into the lower incisors. Those are your front lower teeth.
Other pain patterns of digastric are under the chin line to just behind the ear. It might vaguely show up in the throat or tongue as well.
How can you deactivate trigger points?
One easy way to deactivate trigger points is with self-massage. Good news, you can do a lot of this yourself! A massage therapist with advanced TMJ training, such as myself, can also do the work and train you in self-treatment.
I want to teach you self-massage and stretching for the masseter muscle as soon as possible. Sign up for a free training video from on this page or at HelpHeadPain.com. My full online video course will teach you how to stretch or massage all of the jaw muscles giving tooth pain or headaches. For $80 it is less than the cost of one office visit.
