Health A-Z

Medical Content Created by the Faculty of the
Harvard Medical School

Broken Jaw

Symptoms

Symptoms of a broken jaw can include:

• Bruising, swelling and tenderness along your jaw or below your ear

• The feeling that your teeth don't fit together properly or that your bite is "off"

• Improperly aligned teeth

• Missing teeth or loose teeth

• Swelling or a bruised area in the gum over your jawbone

• Difficulty opening your mouth

• Pain in your jaw joint

• Numbness in your lower lip or chin — a possible sign of nerve damage related to the fracture

When a young child falls on his or her jaw, a deep cut may occur along with a fractured jaw. Parents or other adults may focus on stopping the bleeding and not consider signs of a jaw fracture. If the child is too young to describe some symptoms, the jaw fracture may not be discovered until the child is older and complains of bite problems (malocclusion).