Dental issues....

[rockzilla]

Please send good wishes to me today -- I am going to the dentist in 2 hours for pain I''ve been having in a tooth and my jaw that has been root canaled (twice!) The last time the endo said something might go wrong in the future...I''m hoping the future is not now but I am really scared!

What doesn''t help is that I''m also currently doing ortho (invisalign) and I have TMJ (which has caused "phantom" tooth pains in the past). I''m also in SF for the next 4-5 months, and all my regular dentists are in LA. I feel super alone and scared...I am only about halfway through the invisalign and if they take out my tooth I''m scared it will screw the whole thing up and the last year and a half of ortho I have gone through will have been a waste....

I''m only 25 and the prospect of losing my tooth and having to do a dental implant or similar scares the heck out of me...right now I am hoping it is just the TMJ acting up and the tooth is fine (this has happened before) but something tells me that it is the tooth...ack! It has hurt on and off since this weekend...it doesn''t hurt when I sleep or when I first wake up, but my jaw and mouth get more sore as the day goes on.

I have always brushed and flossed but I just feel so guilty about this...the tooth was originally damaged when I was much younger due to antibiotics...but I keep thinking, what if I had done something differently? Maybe I should have researched my dentist more?

 

[sumbride]

Oh, Rockzilla, I''m here for you! don''t blame yourself for it! Sure, some dental problems can be prevented, but not ALL of them and this sounds like something that isn''t your fault!!! It isn''t your fault!!! Tell the dentist that you''re scared. I''ve found that helps because they will explain things better. I have TMJ as well and it is no fun, and I hope that''s the main issue here. Good luck to you honey!!!

 

[PugLover]

Rockzilla, I am trying to get into dental school right now, and have worked at a dental office for several years. Your discomfort could be caused be a number of issues. As you mentioned - the TMJ dysfunction, the tooth being previously endodontically treated may require retreatment, a tooth being cracked all the way down to the apex of the root, etc. Having had some major TMJ pain myself, I know what you have gone through. The pain is intense, sometimes you feel like it is your joint, sometimes the pain radiates to where you don''t even know if something on the upper or lower jaw is hurting. For me, the TMJ pain was caused by clenching during the day and grinding my teeth at night. I paid attention to when I would clench during the day (when I was driving in particular) and I did my best to stop that. The grinding at night you can''t control, so I just wear a plastic nightguard every day. This will protect your teeth, and not allow the jaw muscle to contract all the way and tense up. Since then, I''ve been pain free. The best advice I can offer is to get yourself to a good dentist, one who is familiar with TMJ issues at least, and is able to diagnose you correctly. Until you can get yourself there, some ibuprofen (if you can take it) should take some pain away, and also reduce any inflammation you may be having. Best of luck to you!

 

[rockzilla]

ACK Ate my post...just wanted to say MY TEETH ARE OK!! YAY!

RZ

 

[PugLover]

What did the pain turn out to be Rockzilla?

 

[rockzilla]

So, I went to the dentist - it was actually an office of like 15 dentists, but only 3 took my particular form of insurance. The dentist I got was a young guy, he took a bunch of xrays, felt around, tapped my teeth. He was a really nice guy - he said that nothing looked wrong from the xrays, but he wanted to get a second opinion from one of the more senior dentists who specialized in root canals and TMJ. (This was the dr. I was originally trying to get an appointment with, but he was booked and didn''t take my insurance)

The senior dentist came over, looked at the xrays, felt around and poked a bunch in my face and jaw. The most tender spots were actually my lymph nodes. He said that he couldn''t defininitvely say what it was ("sometimes its just ''one of those things") but that the root canal looked great from the xrays so it was not those teeth. He said the likely culprits were the TMJ, or some kind of sinus or cold type thing. He said the kind of pain I was having could also definitely be aggravated by stress. He recommended taking ibuprofen and coming back next week if nothing changed.

I was so elated when I came out that I stopped at the Banana Republic next door and spent $60 (but they were having a sale!) 24 hours later there is basically no pain - I think what happened is that it was the TMJ, and since I was stressing out about it, I tensed up, aggravated it more, which made me stress more, until I was freaking out yesterday! It also probably didn''t help that my mom is in town for the week

I''m also really thankful that the dentist asked for a second opinion - it makes me respect him more and makes me feel better about the diagnosis. Not that I have anything against young/new dentists, but when it is something tricky I''m glad they let me be seen by the specialist.

 

[PugLover]

I''m glad it went well and you''re pain free!