Weirdly, chewing on the other side after a root canal can make your jaw sore

mobile266 · 2026-04-10T10:16:17Z

Here’s something I didn’t expect: after my root canal, I was so paranoid about hurting the tooth that I chewed exclusively on the opposite side for like two weeks. Turns out, that can actually make your jaw ache, and even mess with your bite a bit if you keep it up too long. My dentist said it’s pretty common because people are nervous about using the treated tooth, but apparently gentle chewing on both sides actually helps your mouth get back to normal faster. Also, I learned that it’s normal for the tooth to feel kinda “different” for a while—like not painful, just a little off—because the nerve’s gone. It freaked me out at first but now I barely notice it. Anyone else have weird after-effects like this? Or tips for getting comfortable chewing again?

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Long-term Care After Root Canals

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aaron_white

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Totally get the paranoia—jaw stuff just feels weirdly high-stakes sometimes. After my last crown, even the tiniest bite adjustment made me super aware of every click and pop.

“every time my bite changes (even a tiny bit), it throws me off for days”

Same here. I kept thinking I’d mess up the work if I chewed wrong. I’ve learned to give it a couple days and not stress too much unless something actually hurts.

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Weirdly, chewing on the other side after a root canal can make your jaw sore

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