Jenn, Just to be on the safe side I think you need to get yourself to a Cardiologist for a check up. Did you know that most women do not have the pain in the chest hurt when they have heart problems? They have pain in their left arm and in their jaw.

Hi Jenn,
Are you sure you don't grind your teeth? I do something weird with my mouth at night. I have my mouth closed, but yet I am pushing down real hard with the front of my mandible......which causes the TM joint to be squished for long periods of time. Maybe that's happening to you?
I have fibromyalgia, and have learned that every day, there's going to be a "pain du jour"! Sometimes it hurts so bad, I'm sure it's something serious. But I've learned just to take some tylenol, and wait for it to go away, and most of the time it does.
But it is important to consider what riverrat said too.
I will probably die of a heart attack, because I've been through the mill with funky pains in my face, jaw, neck, arms, chest, etc., and it's never my heart! So I'll probably ignore "the big one". hahaha
Also....I am learning that the mouth, especially the maxilla (the upper part of the mouth) is chocked full of tons of nerves that travel here and there....(especially the sinuses), and can give all sorts of unexplainable pains. I don't know about you, but I seem to have a mouth that will always be the center of pain for me. Good luck with this, and I hope your pain goes away soon. Try to baby it for a few days, and see if it goes away.

Hi Jenn,
A couple more possibilities.....maybe you have a swollen lymph node, or a clogged salivary gland??

Thanks for sharing the multitude of possibilities, LOL. I will consider every one of them and wait and see if this gets better. I don't think it is related to my heart though. I did have that type of jaw pain about 15 years ago and had an EKG that tested out OK. This is different -- like pain in the bone, way back behind the teeth.

Jen

Hi, Jenn, how's the jaw treating you? I hope it's all better and you can ignore this post, but just in case...

I'm surprised no one mentioned TMJ pain. T(something) mandibular joint, your jaw. I learned about it from the oral surgeon who pulled my wisdom teeth. My jaw would make sounds like cracking knuckles. I said, "Hear this?" Pop, pop, pop. He said, "STOP doing that and let your jaw rest."

In fact, try not to extend your jaw any more than necessary. Cut up apples, large sandwiches, etc. The pain can be referred and you may feel it in your teeth or neck or elsewhere. Some people have a problem with chronic pain from this. (Don't want to alarm you.) Mine gradually went away on its own and did not recur.

Anyway, just thought I would throw out another option. I really hope your's is better.

Here is a link that might be useful: TMJ pain

Adopted, thank you for asking.

The pain has not gone away but didn't get any worse.... until tonight. I was looking down at the newspaper and was aware again of the mild achiness there and I opened my jaw a few times. All of a sudden, the pain was much worse!

I just read the page you posted about TMJ pain, thank you for that. The pain is in that spot, right in front of my ear. I will pay more attention to it and what I might be doing to aggravate it. One morning, I awoke with the awareness that I was clenching the teeth on that side of my jaw. That's the first time I've noticed that, so maybe there is a connection. I don't know why I'd be doing that though.

Thanks again for suggesting TMJ pain, you might be right. It's strange that the pain has not gone away at all since the first I noticed it in early February.

Jen

Update:

Well today I hardly noticed a thing! I didn't even think about it until tonight, and when I move my jaw I hardly notice anything at all. Let's see what tomorrow brings, LOL.

Jen

And now, it's completely GONE! After that very painful evening last week, the next day was barely noticable and now the pain is gone. Weird!