# Painful first bite of food. what's the cause? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894 "2004-01-17T06:05:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/1 "2004-01-17T06:05:39Z")
I know it’s silly to ask medical type questions on the SD but I have experienced this phenomenon for as long as I can remember. Probably all my life, and I am still alive. If I haven’t eaten for a while, and then I bite into something like a chocolate bar I feel intense pain in both my jaw joints for a few seconds. Each bite after that causes no pain at all. It’s more of an annoyance than a worry. I can live with it, I am just curious about it. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/2 "2004-01-17T06:15:44Z")
It’s caused by the salivary glands compressing to squeeze out fluid in anticipation of the coming food. It happens to everybody occasionally, especially when they are hungry. Exactly why seems to be a mystery, but it’s probably just simple mechanical stretching of the nerves in the face. ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/3 "2004-01-18T09:20:39Z")
LOL! I thought I was the only one that felt this. Well, my sister too. Whenever we experience this after biting into food we say we got “spasms.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/4 "2004-01-18T18:56:03Z")
If it happens mostly with things like chocolate, it could be due to sensitivity in the teeth. I get it when biting into, say, a Mars bar. I think it’s the sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/5 "2004-01-19T05:51:13Z")
There seems to be a relation to blood sugar levels, because this typically happens when I have low blood sugar (less than 60 mg/dl). ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/6 "2004-01-19T08:39:53Z")
Yep, it’s more noticable when people are hungry, which is the poor mans way of describing low blood sugar… The body’s responses to food become more pronounced as appetite increases, and this includes the response of the salivary glands ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/7 "2004-01-19T23:22:09Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > It’s caused by the salivary glands compressing to squeeze out fluid in anticipation of the coming food. It happens to everybody occasionally, especially when they are hungry. Exactly why seems to be a mystery, but it’s probably just simple mechanical stretching of the nerves in the face. Could you provide a cite for this. It could be reffered pain from dentin hypersensitivity. The _hydrodynamic mechanism_ is the most commonly accepted theory for dentin hypersensitivity. This is where stimuli applied to dentinal tubules causes movement of dentinal fluid stimulating nerves in the inner parts of the dentin. High osmotic pressure from very sweet food can cause the movement of dentinal fluid thus leading to pain. As can cold and pressure. What happens if you breath quickly through clenched teeth? Does this cause the same type of pain? This would cause evaporation on the surface of the tooth leading to fluid movement. Perhaps you should see your dentist or purchase some toothpast that can depolarise the nerves. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/8 "2004-01-20T04:25:33Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Could you provide a cite for this. > > It could be reffered pain from dentin hypersensitivity. > > The _hydrodynamic mechanism_ is the most commonly accepted theory for dentin hypersensitivity. This is where stimuli applied to dentinal tubules causes movement of dentinal fluid stimulating nerves in the inner parts of the dentin. > > High osmotic pressure from very sweet food can cause the movement of dentinal fluid thus leading to pain. As can cold and pressure. > > What happens if you breath quickly through clenched teeth? Does this cause the same type of pain? This would cause evaporation on the surface of the tooth leading to fluid movement. > > Perhaps you should see your dentist or purchase some toothpast that can depolarise the nerves. I get this too, and it doesn’t really feel like breathing in quickly through clenched teeth. The feeling is much more centered around the jaw muscles than the teeth. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/9 "2004-01-20T04:37:56Z")
No cite, but I do have my own experience. Sometimes, when I take a bite, I get a pain in both sides of my jaw, then I begin to salivate immediatly. I’m pretty sure it’s my saliva glands suddenly operating at high mode. ---
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/10 "2004-01-20T07:05:52Z")
> [@r\_k](#): > > If it happens mostly with things like chocolate, it could be due to sensitivity in the teeth. I get it when biting into, say, a Mars bar. I think it’s the sugar. I get this too. Most noticeably with chocolate, but also other sweet stuff (candy, caramel popcorn, etc.). Is this a sign of poor dental health or just a natural reaction to sugar? I remember mentioning this to a dental assisstant and she was curious as to where the spot was, saying that it could mean a potential weakness in my tooth enamel. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/11 "2004-01-20T08:22:14Z")
I don’t have a reference to hand Antechinus. Old memories dredged up from physiology lectures. What is being described in this thread isn’t sensitive teeth. The pain itself is located at the angle of the jaw, behind and outside the wisdom teeth, rather than in the teeth themselves. I have suffered from sensitive teeth in the past, and it is a very different phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/12 "2004-01-20T15:58:53Z")
We`ve done this before. (search is way too slow to engage) I suggested in that thread the same thing that **Blake** mentioned above. Since it happens to me also. The crampy painful feeling is always followed by a flow of saliva. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/13 "2004-01-20T15:58:50Z")
We`ve done this before. (search is way too slow to engage) I suggested in that thread the same thing that **Blake** mentioned above. Since it happens to me also. The crampy painful feeling is always followed by a flow of saliva. ---
**Author:** ![Flash-57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/839c29/32.png) [@Flash-57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flash-57)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/14 "2004-01-20T16:58:34Z")
Hmm. Not everyone has experienced this. I’ve never had the kind of pain mentioned earlier in the thread. I’ve had ice-cream headaches and had pains in the teeth from sudden doses of ice cream, but none of deep pain people are describing. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/painful-first-bite-of-food-whats-the-cause/224894/15 "2004-01-20T17:31:26Z")
If you have a cat, watch it’s mouth whenever it sees a big fat pigeon land on the windowsill. It will get an audible salivary gland spasm. A hot fudge sundae or deep dish pizza does the same to _homo sapiens_.