Odd mouth/jaw pain, much like a sour candy is in my mouth

For the last two days my jaw (for lack of a better term) has been hurting. It's a pain I've never felt before. On a scale of pain, I'd say it's distracting to me, but not debilitating. The best way to describe it is it almost feels as though my mouth is constantly experiencing something sour. The pain is bilateral and emanating from the bottom of my sideburns down to where the corner of my jaw is and begins moving forward, as well as a little forward on my cheek area. I have included a picture with the general area where it hurts. There is an X over a spot that I can push on and it is really sore/painful, a little more than the rest. When this first started I assumed I had been grinding my teeth at night, which sometimes makes my jaw sore. But this is different than that pain that I've had before. I don't appear to be swollen anywhere on my face or neck. I'm fairly self-aware of my body so I'd notice that significant change immediately. If there is any swelling I haven't noticed (inside mouth or out). The pain doesn't appear to be worse if chewing or just sitting around, so I don't think it's a tooth, although I do have several crowns on my molars (from grinding the enamel off in my sleep). I brush my teeth twice a day for several minutes with an electric toothbrush, and I drink plenty of water (probably 1/2 to 1 gallon per day).

I've read some stuff about parotitis, which is about as close as I've come in diagnosing myself...but it doesn't seem to completely fit. I don't have a fever, I don't see anything visibly swollen, and chewing doesn't seem to help/hurt the pain very much. I only came across it because someone mentioned the sour gum type pain.

So far I've tried naproxen, aspirin, etc...nothing seems to help it.

Here is a pic of where it hurts:

http://i62.tinypic.com/epmy52.jpg

nvr,

Thanks for the reply. So stupid question...I'm in the Army, I can't go straight to an oral surgeon. I have to choose either dental or a primary care physician. Should I go to the dental clinic first thing on Monday to quickly get to oral surgery?

I'm worried because I live on Oahu but have a scuba diving trip planned next Friday-Monday on the Big Island.

If it is some sort of obstruction, is it serious enough to have to get the treatment ASAP, or can it wait a week?

No problem thanks for your help!

Stupid question, but what's the odds that both sides get clogged at the same time? Both sides are affected for me, just seems odd that I would run into issues at the same time if there wasn't an underlying cause.

Matth3w, did you ever get an answer from your doctor on this issue? I had the exact same symptoms in 2012, which is why I ask.

I am experiencing the the mild irritating pressure feeling ( something like sucking on a lemon) on my right gland in the right jaw area. The left side is fine but the right side seems to flare up at times. It might be the patriotid gland. It feels like the gland is under pressure and maybe the duct is blocked. Yesterday I didn't feel any pressure until I put a piece of chocolate in my mouth and then I could feel mild pressure for a short time. I have been having some mild TMJ pain lately also. I am not sure exactly what it can be so for now I will try to drink more water.

Interesting you brought it up, I do have a questionable molar on that side of my mouth. about 5 or 6 months ago my dentist xrayed my whole mouth and a questionable the tooth and found with a cavity that was getting into the nerve. She recommended that I go get a root canal. They cost about $1200 and I was not wanting to do this unless all other options had been tries to save the tooth. She told me she would try to save the tooth but she couldn't guarantee that the tooth could be saved and that I could still require a root canal. I told her to go ahead drill and fill the tooth. A few months later when I had an appointment with her I told her that the tooth seemed fine and I had no problems. But maybe that tooth is going bad on me again. That tooth does ache a little now and then. If i pull up on that tooth it seems the ache does goes away. I find that if I eat and chew on that tooth it does get a little touchy. So maybe you are right. Maybe I'll have to make an appointment with an Endodontist. But oh the cost. I am thinking of just pulling the tooth.

Root canal procedures don't bother me much. The problem is that the root canal costs over $1200 and the tooth crown costs about $800. $2000 is a lot to dish out.
1)I just made an appointment with my family dentist to fix another crown that came off when I was eating yesterday. Hopefully she will be able to remount the same crown without reworking the tooth and ordering a new crown.
2) I will have her x-ray the bad molar I referred to earlier and see if it is decaying again. If it is I will probably have to go to an endodontist and have the root canal done.

I could be talking over $4,000. Sometime I think pulling the tooth might be the way to go. I already have a partial for my upper teeth. I have most of my lower teeth.