Open mouth and ear bones hurt

Some people often feel pain in the bones next to their ears when they try to open their mouths wide. In this case, it is necessary to check whether the pain is inside the ear or on the side of the ear. If the pain is in the joints and is accompanied by a popping sound, it means that there may be a mild nerve spasm or inflammation. You need to go to the hospital to check the cause and give appropriate treatment.

Clinical symptoms/temporomandibular arthritis

(1) Joint popping is present in most cases, usually on one side, and sometimes accompanied by pain.

(2) Joint pain mainly manifests as pain in the muscles around the joints when opening the mouth and chewing, without redness or swelling. The nature of the pain is dull pain, short-term stabbing pain, and there may be tenderness in the joints.

(3) Abnormal mandibular movement. Abnormal opening degree, manifested as opening the mouth too wide or too narrow. The normal opening degree is about 3.7 cm on average. More than 4 cm is considered too wide, and less than 2 cm is considered too narrow. Abnormal opening type, manifested as deviation or distortion of the mandibular midline when opening the mouth. Sometimes the opening movement may lock.

(4) Other symptoms include headache, dizziness, tinnitus, stuffy ears, blurred vision, eye swelling, difficulty swallowing, soreness and discomfort when chewing, etc.

Causes/temporomandibular arthritis

The cause of this disease is complex and has not yet been fully understood. It is generally believed to be related to the following factors.

① Patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome may have systemic symptoms such as anxiety, depression, psychological disorder, and insomnia.

②Examination of patients with this disease revealed that many had obvious occlusal disorders, such as premature cusp contact, missing posterior teeth, severe wear, and misplaced eruption of wisdom teeth.

③ Asymmetrical development of the joints on both sides, unilateral chewing habits causing excessive load on the joints, and accidental local injuries to the joints, etc.

Precautions/Temporomandibular arthritis

Treatment principles for this disease: Since the cause and pathogenesis of this disease are not yet fully understood, there is still a lack of radical cure.

1. Eliminate all adverse mental and psychological factors, such as improving symptoms of neurasthenia, pointing out a good prognosis, enhancing confidence, and using sedatives and sleeping pills appropriately.

2. Avoid opening your mouth too wide, such as yawning or laughing, which may cause joint sprains. After being stimulated by cold, avoid sudden chewing movements to avoid muscle spasms and damage to joint ligaments. Correct bad chewing habits, such as unilateral chewing and clenching teeth at night.

3. Mouth opening exercises should be performed daily if mouth opening is restricted. Eliminate harmful stimuli, such as treating periodontitis, removing impacted wisdom teeth, repairing missing teeth, correcting malocclusion, etc. Change the unilateral chewing habit, avoid eating hard food, treat nocturnal bruxism, etc.