Can teeth grinding cause the salivary glands under your jaw to swell?
Hey, I'm not exactly sure what's involved with tmj, but my dentist told me a while back that I grind my teeth and I have to wear a mouth guard at night. Recently I've been suffering from earache and my salivary glands under my jaw seem quite swollen for the last few weeks. I'd be interested to hear if any of you had suffered from similar and if they are related??
Re: Can teeth grinding cause the salivary glands under your jaw to swell?
Quote:
Originally Posted by big worry bum
Hey, I'm not exactly sure what's involved with tmj, but my dentist told me a while back that I grind my teeth and I have to wear a mouth guard at night. Recently I've been suffering from earache and my salivary glands under my jaw seem quite swollen for the last few weeks. I'd be interested to hear if any of you had suffered from similar and if they are related??
Thanks
bwb
Grinding teeth normally is stress related or due to other worries, yes you can have swollen glands especially if you grind a lot as the muscles are continuously under pressure and this tension puts pressure on the surrounding muscles and tissues including the glands.
I found that when my tmj was an issue my teeth became sensitive, I do think the grinding is putting pressure on your teeth and this is transferred into your jaw bone which can cause swelling.
If you want some relief I suggest hot and old treatment, this will help relax the muscles a bit and the alternating hot and cold will reduce swelling.
Re: Can teeth grinding cause the salivary glands under your jaw to swell?
Thank you so much lancewan for your reply. Thats really relieving to hear. I googled tmj symptoms but there wasnt anything on submandibular swelling, only a bit on parotid salivary gland swelling due to blockages etc. i seriously thought i had cancer!
when the dentist told me I grind my teeth I never knew there could be so many other issues! This continued gland swelling, ear pain, sore throat, and sore back gums in the last few weeks I am now thinking is all down to grinding.
Re: Can teeth grinding cause the salivary glands under your jaw to swell?
Big Worry Bum
Those symptoms do seem to match TMJ quite close, so I am going to explain things as I have experienced it or researched symptoms;
Sore gums - this is due to the grinding, normally bruxism is prevalent on back teeth and with serious cases it can cause teeth to wear down or even crack some of them which could necessitate removal. Has your dentist noticed higher wear on your molars or is this grinding quite recent?
ear pain - this is down to the pressure on the jaw bone from the grinding, pressure gets transferred into the middle ear area and any jaw misalignment an cause various ear complaints like feeling blocked or full of water or ear ache but without any obvious foreign body or infections. The other added issue is that any muscle tension that builds up in the jaw area from constant grinding also gets transferred through some ligaments into the middle ear area and again misalignment and pressure can put pressure unevenly on the inner ear causing pain.
Sore throat - I have not had this but have seen a lot of people mention it, what happens from what I can gather is that any tension in the muscles gets transferred into the throat, normally on the same area where the jaw is misaligned or where there are symptoms like jaw clicking, ear ache etc. The muscles attach to the hyoid bone, this is a free standing bone in the front of the throat and one sided tension can put uneven pressure on it and the surrounding area.
Apologies for the essay, do take a look at some stretches and exercises you can do to help relieve your symptoms. Also take a look at some stresses and find out what is on your mind the most to see if resolving that reduces your bruxism. It can be anything even something trivial but which is always on your mind.
If the symptoms dont improve then go back to your gp, the advice I provide is based on personal experience and research.
Re: Can teeth grinding cause the salivary glands under your jaw to swell?
Had TMJ for years until I spoke to my dentist. I seem to grind my teeth and clench my jaw a lot at night and he recommended I get a tooth guard for my upper teeth.This was made speciafically for me from a cast he took (no off the shelf thing). Took me a little while to get used to this but would not be without it now. My TMJ has been gone now for 7 yrs except for a very mild hint of it when I went through a very traumatic time in my life. It cost me €65 and only had to replace it about one yr ago. Worth every penny and cheaper and healthier than meds. Before this I was in constant agony.
Re: Can teeth grinding cause the salivary glands under your jaw to swell?
thanks ariangirl and lancewan for your replies. i'll definitely look into some jaw stretches. i haven't had the mouth guard that long but actually think that it was this that was causing my gums near my back molars to be sore. they seem better now. i also didn't start having any problems, like sore throat and earache until i started wearing the mouth guard. maybe its coincidence!
The following user gives a hug of support to big worry bum: lancewan (02-11-2013)
