jaw claudication jaw claudication jaw claudication is pain in the jaw associated with chewing. it is a classic symptom of giant-cell arteritis, but can be confused with symptoms of temporomandibular joint disease, rheumatoid arthritis of the temporomandibular joint, myasthenia gravis, tumors of the parotid gland, or occlusion or stenosis of the external carotid artery. jaw claudicationdifferential diagnosisgiant cell artiritis the term is derived by analogy from claudication of the leg, where pain is caused by arterial insufficiency.