My temple swells only when i am eating. dentist said to wear a nightguard but it is not helping. why does this happen? what to do?

Diagnosis: The key is a diagnosis. Consider seeing a dentist trained in facial pain to determine the cause and treatment options. See www.Aaop.Org or www.Aacfp.Org for a listing of dentists.

Location,location,..: Where is it that you are swelling? It is possible you may have some blocked salivary glands and subsequent backup into the temple regions. Maybe the next time you go to visit take some lemonheads with you to see if you can replicate your issue. I hope you find out soon because this seems a rather annoying and possibly painful problem.

2nd opinion: This sounds more like a salivary gland stone, or sialolith, which blocks the duct draining saliva from your parotid gland. It depends on the historical and if it's strictly associated with eating. If this is true you may notice an obvious and frank swelling in front of the ear high on your cheek. It is not common to get a frank swelling of the TMJ that you can see, only when eating.

Temple or ?: Your question is somewhat confusing. The "temple" indicates the side of the head behind the eyes. Is that where you get swelling and only when eating? Are you referring to your "tmj"- the joint just in front of the ears? Or does it swell somewhere else? Unfortunately we need more information to even try to answer your question.The ng may or may not be the answer. Get at least another opinion 1st.