What does jaw pain mean?
Jaw pain can occur in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Osteoarthritis (OA) and Fibromyalgia (FMS).We wanted to know what characteristics are common to people with jaw pain, and which form of arthritis they have.We found out that jaw pain is much more common in people with FMS, about 38 percent have it, whereas 18 percent of RA and OA patients have it. Does this mean that if you have jaw pain you probably have FMS? No. That determination can only be made by your doctor. It might indicate what we call a general pain disorder rather than a specific problem with your jaw joint. This means you, in general, might have more pain or decreased sensitivity to pain compared with people without jaw pain. Again, this information can be more useful to your doctor as he or she decides how to treat you. For doctors, as they see patients with jaw pain, this research means that they may want to give more thought to whether a person has above-average pain that needs specific attention. Dr. Robert S. Katz was t
