Jaw pain

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Aditya Govindavarjhulla, M.B.B.S. [2]

Differential diagnosis

Common causes

• Jaw alignment disorder

• Jaw injury

• Osteomyelitis

• Dental abscess

• Acute post-extraction osteitis

Organ system based

Cardiovascular	Angina pectoris, MI, Temporal arteritis
Chemical / poisoning	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	no underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	Bisphosphonates, Amerge(Naratriptan)
Ear Nose Throat	Otitis media , Parotitis, Lymphadenitis, Cervical adenitis, Dental abscess, Herpes zoster, Ludwig's angina, Nose infections, Osteomyelitis, Quinsy, Sinus infections, Sinusitis, Suppurative parotitis, Tetanus
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	Caffey's disease
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	Acute post-extraction osteitis
Infectious Disease	Cervical adenitis, Dental abscess, Herpes zoster, Ludwig's angina, Nose infections, Osteomyelitis, Quinsy, Sinus infections, Sinusitis, Suppurative parotitis, Tetanus
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	Jaw cyst, TMJ, Trismus
Neurologic	Headache, Migraine, Trigeminal neuralgia
Nutritional / Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	Head and neck cancer, Jaw tumor, Neck cancer
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte	Tetany
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Arthritis, Jaw alignment disorder, Jaw arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Septic arthritis, Temporomandibular joint pain
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Broken jaw, Jaw injury, Trauma
Urologic	No underlying causes
Dental	Dental caries, Dental surgery, Tooth decay, Wisdom tooth extraction
Miscellaneous	Bruxism, Toothache