Quick answer
See a dentist for tooth pain, gum problems and bite issues. Jaw pain that clicks, locks or is worse in the morning is often a temporomandibular joint disorder rather than a dental problem, and TMJ disorder responds to physiotherapy — manual therapy, jaw exercises and addressing the neck.
Most jaw pain is dental and belongs with a dentist. A meaningful minority is not: it is a joint problem, in a joint you use several thousand times a day, and it responds to the same kind of treatment as any other joint.
When to see one
- Tooth pain, sensitivity or visible decay
- Bleeding or receding gums
- A cracked or broken tooth
- Bite problems, or teeth that no longer meet correctly
- Grinding your teeth at night — a dentist can make a splint
- Any swelling of the face or jaw with fever, urgently
How physiotherapy fits
The temporomandibular joint is the hinge in front of your ear. When it is the problem rather than a tooth, the pattern is fairly distinctive: pain in front of the ear rather than in a tooth, clicking or locking when you open wide, difficulty eating anything that needs chewing, headaches around the temples, and mornings that are worse than evenings if you clench at night.
TMJ disorder is treated the way other joint problems are treated: manual therapy to the joint and the muscles around it, specific jaw exercises, addressing the neck — which is very often involved — and dealing with the clenching. It works, and a great many people are never told it is an option.
Read more on TMJ disorder.
Where to see one
Our physiotherapy units run inside multi-speciality hospitals and nursing homes across West and South West Delhi — in Vikaspuri, Janakpuri, Uttam Nagar, Najafgarh and Dwarka — most of which run consultant clinics in this speciality. If you are already under our care, ask your therapist and we will tell you who holds a clinic at the centre you attend and how to get an appointment.
We are a physiotherapy and rehabilitation practice. We do not employ these consultants and we take no fee for pointing you at one; we work alongside them because most of our patients need both.
Need the physiotherapy side?
Book an assessment and we will tell you what rehabilitation can do, and whether you need a doctor first.
Book an assessment