A broken or injured jaw is an injury to the one or both joints of the jaw that connect your lower jaw with, the skull. Each joint is called TMJ or temporomandibular joint. It is not uncommon for the TMJ to be broken, crack.
A broken or dislocated jaw can cause various problems while eating and breathing. Unfortunately, if you are involved in such a situation, you need to seek the help of a doctor immediately.
Causes of dislocated and a broken jaw
Facial trauma is a common cause of jaw dislocation. The jaw bone extends from the chin to the back of the ears. Common injuries that can cause dislocation or fracture in the jaw bone or joint are:
- Road accident
- Fall at home or anywhere
- Industrial accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Sports injuries
Symptoms of a broken bone or dislocated jaw
Broken Jaw
Broken jaw symptoms usually include:
- Jaw stiffness
- Pain
- Swelling
- Bleeding
- Breathing difficulties
- Numbness
- Bruising in the face
- Dental related discomfort
Dislocated jaw
The symptoms of a broken jaw are different from a dislocated jaw. But, some of them might overlap. Pain is a common symptom in both conditions. In this condition, the pain will worsen with the movement of the jaw and body.
Some common symptoms of the dislocated jaw include:
- You might notice the wrong alignment of your teeth
- Speaking problems
- Abnormal bite
Diagnosis of a broken or dislocated jaw
Your doctor will start to diagnose by asking your history, taking relevant tests and by doing a physical exam. A mild dislocation can be treated by an oral surgeon or dentist. But, a serious fracture would need a surgery specialist like facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
Treatment for jaw injuries
Treating dislocation of the jaw
A doctor must place your jaw back in its right position. In some condition, they will do it . In this condition, they may give you anesthesia or other muscle relaxants to reduce the pain to lower the grip of the jaw. If this dislocation was due to trauma, surgery might be needed to put the TMJ back in their position.
Treating broken jaw
Treatment for a broken jaw or fracture may also need surgery. It may also depend on the severity of the condition. If the jaw is broken, or the joints of the jaw are broken or pushed from their place, the will need surgical repair.
Wiring the jaw
Broken and dislocated jaws are wired shut during recovery. In minor injuries or less complex cases, the doctor may wrap a bandage around the head and the chin to keep your mouth from opening your jaw wide. But, in this process, ibuprofen or other medication can be used to relax the muscles. You can buy codeine online to relieve the pain. This medication also produces the calming effects in the brain.
While complex and severe breaks need wiring up the whole jaw to increase the healing process. Elastic bands and wires keep your jaws tight and help you to keep your bite in the right place.
This treatment can be a little difficult for you. In this, you will not be able to open your jaws for at least six months during the treatment. In this period, you have to use pain killers and other relaxants to avoid extra trouble.
Diet
As your jaws are broken or dislocated, die is the main problem here. You will need the soft and liquid diet which doesn’t need to chew. Avoid foods that are chewy or crunchy if you want to heal in weeks.
The soft diet describe below can be easy to chew for you:
- Canned meat
- Well-cooked pasta
- Well-cooked rice
- Soup
- Canned fruit
In the wired treatment, you will not be able to open your jaw to chew the food. So you will only take the foods through a straw in the shape of vitamins and minerals.
