What is it? i woke up yesterday morning with my my right lower jaw a little swollen. i have no fever and no pain. it has not gone down in size though. i do not have dental or health insurance. i have taken some ibuprofen for the swelling and have iced

The : The measures you have tried are appropriate, including Ibuprofen and warm compresses. Most abscesses do have pain, though patients have very different pain thresholds. There are often no-cost or low-cost dental clinics available, or even dental colleges, where you may be able to get examined. If a patient had persistent swelling, pain, or fever then they may be getting a dental infection. I hope that your symptoms improve.

Grinding teeth : It is difficult to make a diagnosis without examining a patient, but the most likely cause of these symptoms is from grinding ones teeth while sleeping. This is a common habit which usuallly indicates that the patient is under stress.

Jaw or face?: Swelling of the jaw itself can indicate many things, infection of a tooth being very high on the list. It would usually be accompanied by some pain and possibly fever. Swelling of the soft tissues surrounding the jaw indicate many other possibilities, infection cannot be ruled out, but it is common to have muscular swelling from over use (night grinding i.E). An exam is warranted.

Temporary reprieve: Someone has to actually examine you to determine the cause of the swelling. Could be a medical or a dental problem, so you may have to see a physician and a dentist. Once cause determined, a course of treatment can be prescribed. It will probably be much cheaper to rx the problem now than waiting until it becomes more severe. Please seek help.