Management of jaw pain prior to your appointment
The following are suggestions you may want to follow until you are able to be seen by the doctor.
Soft Diet
You may have already discovered that certain foods hurt less to eat. When your jaw hurts it is because it is injured. Eating soft, nutritious foods is one thing you can do to reduce the workload of the jaw. This may include soup, eggs, fish, yoghurt, cottage cheese, cooked vegetables, ground meat, oatmeal etc.
Foods to avoid
Sugar! Sugar as well as preservatives are inflammatory and can make your condition worse. Crunchy, sticky, and hard foods should also be avoided. Do not chew gum.
Cold and Heat
Cycling the cold and heat on the muscles of your face can be very effective for certain conditions. It is low risk so try it and see if it helps you. Place ice over affected area for 10 min followed by 10 min of moist heat. Do this 3 times per day.
Stretching and Self-massage
This can be very effective if your pain is coming from the muscles around the jaws, but you can overdo it. If this aggravates your pain, stop doing it. If it brings you relief, be careful, but continue to stretch and massage the sore muscles 2-3 times a day. Open as wide as you can without hurting yourself and hold position for 7 seconds. Repeat this seven times. This can be done several times per day.
Reduce Stress
One common reason that people have sore jaws is that they clench their teeth. The most common reason for this is stress. Anything you can do to reduce this will be beneficial.
palousemindfulness.com is a great meditation resource that Dr Bishop uses himself!
Consciously keeping your teeth slightly apart whenever you can, will be helpful also as this is the healthy resting position for your mouth.
Medications
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) can be very effective at reducing pain and inflammation. Medications like Tylenol help with the pain but are not effective are reducing inflammation. An over-the-counter muscle relaxant like Robaxacet may also help if it feels like the pain is in the muscles of your face.
These recommendations are meant for short-term relief only and do not replace the need for professional care.