Funky jaw movement, discomfort with eating, vomiting

This all started just before June 11, 2013... Madeline started 'jawing' (acting as though she had something wrong with her mouth, food stuck in her teeth) every time she ate.  I thought it was probably her need for a dental, which was done June 11.  She had one canine removed, teeth cleaned and sent home with pain meds and stitches.  After 3 days of pain meds were finished, she wouldn't eat much of her food.  So, I took her back to Vet and the stitches had come out, leaving a gaping hole.  She was sent home with antibiotics  for 7 days and more pain meds (3 days worth).  The jawing has not stopped.  Eating is off and on. Staying in touch with the vet, who is saying monitor and get back with me.   Around July 18 she started vomiting once a day, very early morning and it consists of food, no fur.  Very wet, not clumpy.  Took her back to Vet on July 22... they found there was a small stitch still there (which they removed, possible reason for irritation?) and can't find any other reason for vomiting or discomfort.  X-rays look good, no temp, labs good... maybe a hairball?  Today I picked up a dose of Cerenia, which we will inject tonight to see if we can get the vomiting to stop.

Maddy is a big girl, 13 year old Calico.  She weighs 18 lbs and has always LOVED to eat!  She doesn't appear to sick, her coat is healthy, her other habits are the same. There is obvious discomfort when she is trying to eat, yet doesn't seem to be sensitive in any one place.

Has anyone ever had this experience before?  Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.  

Maddys Mom 

I know  you said that maybe something was stuck in her teeth but have you tried looking to see if there's something in her throat that could be lodged in there? something small maybe.

Was it an upper or lower canine tooth?

Two of my cats had dentals recently - one had to get both bottom canines out and the doc warned me that fracturing the lower jaw is rare, but possible. You said the x-rays looked good, though, so I guess it's not a fracture.

My other cat had six extractions, one being an upper canine tooth, but - another disclaimer - the doc had to warn me that it might affect how the bottom canine meets the top of the mouth when the mouth opens and closes. The sutures came out, leaving a gaping hole just like you described. He stopped eating and I had to take him back to the vet for a pain patch and antibiotics. The vet did not want to re-suture the hole. They wanted it to fill in on it's own, but I had to clean it each night with a gentle, fine stream of water from a syringe to avoid infection. It worked, it started to heal, and he started eating again. There doesn't seem to be an issue with my cat on how he's opening and closing his mouth, but I guess it's possible that the bottom canine might be able to stab the upper gumline where the upper canine was removed? If you think this is the case, have your vet gently lift the lip to see if there is any irritation there. It would be easy to miss just by opening the mouth.

Just seems so weird, though. My cat who had the upper canine tooth removed starting vomiting 14 days after going back to the vet for a problem with his dental and getting an antibiotic. He now had pancreatitis, was hospitalized for 2 days and I'm desperately trying to nurse him back to health. Coincidence? Delayed reaction from the anesthesia? I have no idea.

In all seriousness, to be safe, I would have the vet run a full blood panel to make sure nothing else serious is going on.
 

Thanks to both of you for your replies!  The last few days have been crazy!  I took Maddy back to the vet on Monday.  They completely checked her out with blood panel, pancreatic enzyme panel, throat, jaw, ears, and anything else they could get to and cannot find anything.  All blood work came out perfect, which is a huge relief, but she is still making the jaw movement.  I will have to just keep a close eye on her and watch for any additional symptoms.  She's being very picky about eating.  They gave her an appetite stimulant yesterday and she ate and ate and ate.  So, that's where we are now! 

Glad to hear all the tests came out clear! Whew! The jaw movement is puzzling.