Were you recently in an auto accident? Hopefully you were fine, if so. However, you may notice that a few days after the accident, you all of a sudden become sore. This typically shows up in the jaw. There are a few reasons this happens, but they are all relatively normal. If the soreness lasts a day or two, then fades, it is often nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if your soreness lasts beyond that, you may want to go in and get checked out. You may have a fractured tooth that needs to be repaired.

Reasons Your Jaw Likely Hurts Following an Auto Accident

If you were able to see the accident coming ahead of time, then your natural reaction is to brace yourself. This means you tighten up your body, trying to brace for the impact of the object or other vehicle. Many times, this means inadvertently clenching your teeth. This can cause your teeth to jam together, possibly causing damage to your teeth.

For those that did not see the accident coming, your teeth may have hit together during the accident. While this was not anything done intentionally, it can still cause long-lasting damage to your teeth. It can also leave your teeth struggling from pain afterwards.

When teeth hit together, it can leave pain in the nerves that takes a little time to heal from. This can cause your teeth to remain sore even days after an auto accident. If the pain is severe, or if the pain lasts beyond those first few days, you want to go in and get seen. This way, tests can be done to ensure that nothing is wrong with your teeth beyond them just needing a little time to recover. If you have any questions, or if you would like to learn more, please call us today at (503) 652-8080.