My jaw hurts, what can be done?

[Osman]

I have been experiencing a clicking jaw on one side the past few weeks. My jaw hurts everytime I open and close my mouth and I feel also that I have difficulty in opening my mouth fully.

I have seen a dentist and he says it is stress related, and that I have tense jaw muscles. I do lead a very stressful life which I find very difficult to reduce the stress in my life.

Could you let me know how my tense jaw muscles can be cured? How can I relax my jaw muscles and do I need to to see a specialist?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Sounds like from the symptoms that you are describing that you should see an oral surgoen or Maxillofacial surgeon for an assessment of your jaws and jaw muscles.

They may recommend a nightgaurd if there is evidence of teeth clenching and tooth grinding.