Bit pretty hard on a popcorn kernel last night - a bit worried.

October 21, 2024 10:29 AM

I bit pretty hard on a popcorn kernel last night unexpectedly while snacking on popcorn, on my back teeth. It didn't hurt at the moment, but a bit later, my jawbone started feeling sore. I'm a bit worried I had chipped or damaged my teeth somehow. No, YANMD.

A while after the incident last night, my jawbone started to hurt, and I think my teeth a bit, but it was hard to tell.

This morning, I tested by drinking both cold and hot water, and it doesn't seem to hurt or have a 'jolt' sensation on my teeth. My jawbone is still sore, though—it's hard to tell if it's my teeth itself that's sore, or the jawbone, but I think the former, given the outside cheek area (bone) feels a bit stiff.

My teeth itself feels fine and looks fine when I look in the mirror—no evidence of chipping or cracks or whatever, and when I run my tongue on my teeth, I don't feel any new sharp tears that would point to a chip. I figured I'd ask because I'm sure this is quite common. I wanted to see if any of you had experience with biting on a kernel and aftereffects, if any. IE, if I had chipped a teeth, would I know for sure? Is it something you would know right away? I'm a bit worried that damage has been done, especially as there's still soreness and it's been around half a day.

It could also be psychological, because immediately when I woke up this morning, I didn't feel any stiffness/pain; it was when I recalled the incident that it started aching, and continues to do so now.

Bonus question: how do I better filter those damn kernels out so I don't bite on one again? Microwave popcorn, if that helps. I do tend to eat popcorn slowly so not to accidentally bite on one, but as you can see, even that isn't foolproof—I became careless last night and now am paying the price.

Thanks. YANMD, but wanted to ask (and of course, if the jawbone continues to be achy, I'll reach out to my dentist).

posted by dubious_dude to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

Take an Advil, I'm sure you're overworking your jaw to "test it" right now, and you're not letting it rest. Your jaw is full of muscles and you can strain them just like any other part of your body. Take an ibuprofen, go distract yourself with a fun activity, and give your face a break.

I like to eat popcorn with chopsticks. Fully popped pieces are easy to snag. The lesser popped kernely ones are tough to get a grip on. It's a good self limiter.
posted by phunniemee at 10:39 AM on October 21, 2024 [10 favorites]

...if I had chipped a teeth, would I know for sure?

I broke a tooth on a kernel a couple of years back, and it was immediately apparent there was damage. I could run my tongue across the broken tooth and feel the void. I should think you would be able to similarly feel a chip. It would feel sharp-ish, and maybe be an obvious divot where it should be smooth.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:16 PM on October 21, 2024 [3 favorites]

I broke a tooth on a piece of pizza (of all things!) once. It was immediately apparent--I felt the tooth break, the tooth itself was painful, and I could feel with my tongue that something was wrong. When my then-spouse looked in my mouth, he said, "WHOA! That's broken!"

If Advil relieves your soreness and you aren't thinking of reaching for a topical treatment like Anbesol, you are very likely just fine and chewing funny because of anxiety. This is OF COURSE totally okay to reach out to your dentist about, but chips/breaks in teeth are generally obvious.

Do mention this at your next cleaning!
posted by epj at 12:18 PM on October 21, 2024 [1 favorite]

I very slightly chipped an incisor on a meatball (a meatball!) and I could tell because I could feel the rough edge (I had no pain) and see the chipped place (incisor). I went to the dentist for it and she filed it just a teeny bit but said otherwise there wasn't anything to do for it, I just have a chipped front tooth now unless I want to go full veneers or something (she didn't suggest veneers).
posted by mskyle at 12:26 PM on October 21, 2024

I have frequently had residual dental... feelings after eating popcorn and other hard items and accompanying anxiety, but they've always turned out to be nothing. I second the opinion that you should take an advil or similar and try to defer worrying about it to if the ache actually comes back after the medicine wears off in 4-8 hrs.
posted by space snail at 12:51 PM on October 21, 2024

If you had even a tiny chip your tongue would make it feel huuuge and you would know. I’ve however “cracked” my jaw like this, but the way you “crack” your elbow or knee when you kinda twist it and force it through a range of motion. I’d expect it to be fine tomorrow if you stop thinking about it and leave it be.
posted by Iteki at 2:15 PM on October 21, 2024 [3 favorites]

Yes, you would feel it. I've had 3 small chips. One may have been a popcorn kernel. But I did not learn anything and continue to eat popcorn on occasion, vowing to be more careful, etc.
posted by Glinn at 6:24 PM on October 21, 2024

As for being more careful, I have thought of using a colander with larger holes to try to shake out the kernels. I have not remembered to do that yet, so I can't tell you if it works.
posted by Glinn at 6:26 PM on October 21, 2024

There are tiny ligaments holding each of your teeth in place, and they can get strained. It can hurt for several days without being anything permanent.

Once I had a bad tooth pain and called my dentist. He had me come in right away. He tapped on each tooth and determined I’d just been clenching my teeth too much. He said it would get better soon, and he was right. Dentists leave room in their schedules for such unplanned-for issues. If you have a regular dentist, give them a call and they’ll probably have you come in surprisingly soon.
posted by metonym at 6:32 PM on October 21, 2024

I also eat popcorn using chopsticks. It has the added bonus of not getting my fingers dirty so I can use the keyboard without having to wipe on a napkin. But if I'm not using chopstick, I just eat my popcorn one kernel at a time. I've never been one to grab a handful and put it all in my mouth.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 10:03 PM on October 21, 2024

Speaking from experience: an aching jaw can definitely be psychosomatic; and it can also be exacerbated by doing things like holding it very tense (because you're anxious) or repeatedly exploring an area with your tongue (it's unaccustomed exercise, and it can make muscles ache!).

Also speaking from experience: as everyone has said, you would definitely feel it with your tongue if you had chipped the tooth.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 1:34 AM on October 22, 2024 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the helpful responses! Pretty much no residual pain so far *knock on wood* but those helpful answers re: teeth/jaw can definitely be beneficial for the future. If the pain comes back, I'll reach out to my dentist.

As for using chopsticks with popcorn, nifty! Never thought of that. Will definitely try that and see if that works better!
posted by dubious_dude at 9:22 AM on October 22, 2024