10 Apr Does Cold Weather Make Your Jaw Hurt?
While spring is on the horizon, cold weather is still here, and for some people, this means jaw pain. But – why is that? It seems strange that cold weather could make your jaw hurt, so what is going on?
HOW COLD WEATHER RELATES TO JAW PAIN
If you experience jaw pain during cold weather, the first thing that you should do is call your dentist to set up an appointment. It is important that you have your teeth examined to rule out cavities or other oral health problems as the source of your pain.
Temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ, may also be the cause of the problem. Symptoms can include chewing pain, headaches, and difficulty opening the mouth, among other problems.
When you shiver in cold weather, you may cause your jaw muscles to constrict, or you might even clench your teeth together. The end result could all be jaw pain, not necessarily due to the cold, but due to the way that you respond to the cold.
In other cases, it could be changes in the barometric pressure that are causing your distress. Research has shown that these changes often occur with a drop in temperature, and this could trigger pain by resulting in the expansion of air pockets throughout the body. When these pockets change in size, they can put pressure onto the nerves, resulting in pain.
Even though jaw pain during the cold weather isn’t usually something to be concerned about, you should still visit with your dentist if the pain is severe or doesn’t go away.
A trip to the dentist is the only way to definitely determine the source of your problem and to come up with a good treatment problem. If you are experiencing jaw pain, contact us today to set up an appointment.