Misdiagnoses are common, sometimes things are not as they seem to be, but can you imagine, getting your cancer treated and finding out that it wasn’t cancer at all? A unique report detailed the case of this 40-year-old woman who developed a tumor in her jaw area over two years. Interestingly, two months before the jaw tumor appeared, she had root canal surgery on a tooth near that area. Also, one month before the tumor, she had surgery to treat endometriosis in her uterus. Doctors surgically removed the jaw tumor. After looking at the tissue under a microscope and performing special tests, they confirmed it was endometriosis.Over 190 million girls and women suffer with this disease, yet we hear about the lack of proper care, treatment or even diagnosis in most cases. Endometriosis, a chronic disease that can cause severe, life-impacting pain during periods, yet it goes undiagnosed in many cases. Yale Medicine explains that due to the varying symptoms, many times healthcare professionals require surgeries to definitively diagnose endometriosis, which can be invasive as well as cause complications. Why Do Women With Endometriosis Suffer Jaw Pain?Researchers have looked into how endometriosis could affect places like the jaw. According to a 2023 study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, women with endometriosis who had pelvic pain on one side of their body were also more likely to experience jaw pain on that same side. The study also noted that those with jaw pain were more prone to clenching their teeth. Researchers surveyed 128 women, most around 33 years old, who had been diagnosed with endometriosis for about six years. All the women had been diagnosed through surgery and had received medical treatment (like hormone therapy) for at least six months in the past. Women with more severe endometriosis or certain other health conditions were not included. The women filled out questionnaires about their muscle and joint pain. Then, the researchers used statistics to look for connections between the different pains and their endometriosis treatments. What they found was, There was a link between pain on the sides of the pelvis and pain on the sides of the jaw, temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which is where the joint that connects the jawbone to skullThere was a strong link between teeth clenching and jaw pain (TMJ).There was a link between pelvic pain and the type of endometriosis treatment the women received.There was also a link between pain outside the pelvis (in other body parts) and the type of endometriosis treatment used.However, the study did not find a link between: Pelvic pain and headaches.Teeth clenching and headaches.Jaw pain (TMJ) and the type of endometriosis treatment.Most of the women in the study reported clenching their teeth, but the study didn't look at stress levels. The most common treatments reported by the women were hormone therapy and surgery. How Is Endometriosis and Jaw Pain Connected?It's easy to dismiss jaw pain as just stress, but if you have endometriosis, there might be more to it. While about one-third of people generally experience jaw joint problems, a 2024 study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine revealed that a much higher percentage, 77% of women with endometriosis—suffer from jaw pain, with nearly half reporting significant pain. These women also reported feeling more pain overall in their bodies. The study also highlighted that it took these women almost three years on average to get an endometriosis diagnosis. Unfortunately, simple tests like blood, urine, or saliva tests cannot detect endometriosis. Imaging tests like ultrasounds or MRIs might suggest it's present, but the only way to confirm it for sure is through a diagnostic laparoscopy, which is a surgical procedure.Can You Treat This Jaw Pain?Treatments like pain medications and hormone therapy can help manage the symptoms. However, laparoscopic excision surgery is often used to remove the endometriosis lesions themselves, which can alleviate the problems they're causing.