My lower jaw, left side, is tender - not the skin - not the teeth - the tissue, I suppose.  There is no swelling.  I thought it might be teeth, but I saw the dentist recently.  It continues part-way down the left side of my neck.  Just the front side, not the back. I noticed it night-before-last, but not during the day yesterday until I sat down for dinner and some TV watching. It is still tender this morning
Hi. Thanks for the query. Tenderness of the lower jaw only over the front can be most probably due to inflammation of the lymph nodes or can be due to any injured or pulled muscle. So my suggestion is to get an x-ray of the area done. It will help in ruling out the exact problem and treatment can be done accordingly. For now, you can do cool compresses over the area and take anti-inflammatory painkiller like Ibuprofen. See if it improves or else consult an Emergency room and get evaluated. Hope this helps. Regards.