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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Is it normal to have bad jaw pain a week after wisdom tooth removal?

    Related Topics
    Dentistry Oral Health
    I had a badly impacted wisdom tooth removed (lower jaw) a week ago and while I thought I was recovering quite well, 3 days ago I started to get really bad pain in the jaw and scar from the operation, surrounding the tooth, whenever I try to eat something that requires ANY chewing. The pain only happens when I eat, and I'm still being careful to only eat soft foods - but the pain is pretty unbearable.
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    Dr Marcel Lee

    Dentist

    Dr. Marcel Lee is the owner and director of SYDNEY SMILES DENTAL. He has lived in Sydney’s North Shore since 1991. He attended St. Ignatius’ … View Profile

    Normal is an individual thing, it is not normal after a good clean extraction, but it may be something like an infection.
    While sorry to hear that you are in pain, depending on the process that was done, we do recommend you to see the person who took it out, there may be an infection or more going on.
    We wish you well. Kind regards, Karla,  PM for Dr Lee

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    Dr Jeremy Rourke

    Dentist

    If you are getting really bad pain three days after an extraction it could be a dry socket. This occurs when the blood clot in the socket breaks down and there is nothing to cover the raw, exposed bone inside the extraction socket. The description of dry socket pain is that it starts on the third or fourth day after the extraction and the first day of pain is unbearable, the second day of pain is even worse and on the third day it subsides but is still unbearable. Then the pain tapers off over the next seven to ten days. The best thing to do would be to see your dentist and get a prescription for prescription strength  painkillers.

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    Dr Julien Bundun

    Dentist

    Julien has done further training at New York University, School of Dentistry in Aesthetic Dentistry. This has made Julien a highly respected clinician by the … View Profile

    if the pain only occurs when chewing, and in no other circumstances, it might be related to the functional movement of the masseter muscle (cheek muscle) or the medial pterygoid muscle (inner jaw line at the back) close to the area where the tooth was. After a wisdom tooth is removed, especially if it involved exposing the jaw bone, swelling will occur. Movement of the muscles (when chewing) in the area may press on the swollen tissues and cause pain. It could also be due to the stitches (if placed) being pulled around by the chewing movement. 

    As previously stated, this is best assessed by seeing the clinician who has treated you

    Dr Julien Bundun

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