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Toothache or facial nerve?

G

Guest

Former Member
For the past three days I've been experiencing an excruciating pain and my dentist is out of town so I hope somebody here can give me some hints..
I've been having sudden, violent pains on my left cheek. The first evening the pain was irradiating on my upper teeth while yesterday and today it affects the lower side. It's really bad, it lasts a few minutes (but I feel like banging my head against the wall) and it usually starts if I'm sitting. If I stand up it gets better and yesterday I found some relief also lying down. When it gets really bad even if it's on my lower teeth I feel pain also behind my upper front teeth and part of the palate. It seems to me also the left side of my tongue hurts and my neck.
I'm currently undergoing some dental treatments so I'm monitored weekly. I thought it could be a nerve but I already had some problems and consequently some root canals and the pain seemed different from the one I'm experiencing. It happens at random, during the day but it's more intense in the evening, esp. after I've spent a lot of time sitting in front of the tv..
Can somebody help me? I'm puzzled. And in pain...

PS: I don't feel any discomfort with hot or cold food or drinks and none of my teeth on that side hurts when I chew
 
Some more info would be helpful...

How prolonged is the pain, ie is it continuous or short stabbing pains?

Have you had a cold or blocked nose recently?

Any numbness?
 
The pain comes and goes in waves. It reaches its peak in about ten seconds. It can last from five minutes to fifteen. When it stops, it's quite sudden and I notice it gets better or disappears if I stood up and start to walk.
Funny that you mention a blocked nose..I didn't have a cold or anything but I'm an alergic subject and in the past days I felt I had a sort of "stuffed" nose even though it wasn't really runny.
I also have to add I always had problems with my neck and spine, mostly due to the fact that for my work I have to spend a lot of time on the computer. My left side (neck, back and armpit) is quite achy at the moment, and started to be prior to the mouth pains. I also have to add that I have recurrent kidney colics ( I form stones as I breathe and haven't found a remedy yet in spite of the thousand doctors I've seen) and that in the past month I have been having one mild colic a week on my left kidney. Of course I tense and cringe a lot...
Thank you for caring :)
Heit
 
Sounds like it might be sinus trouble, which can be very like a terrible dose of toothache at times. Getting into a steamy atmosphere can help, try a hot bath or shower.
;D

The pain on postural changes makes it sound quite like sinusitis to me.

If it was a nerve pain (neuralgia) you would get short stabbing pain, like being poked by a hot needle, but the pain isn't persistent as you describe.
 
Hi, it's me again. The facial pain has become unbereable. It doesn't come only at night anymore, today I had it all day long and with no pause. I went to the ENT doc and everything's alright there. I went to a neurologist and he said it could be a facial nerve but he's not willing to give me any medication until I have a tac done. And this, will take days. Painkillers don't work properly anymore and I don't know what to do. My dentist is willing to do a root canal on both my upper teeth that have a crown and that have filling very close to the nerve. But he says he doesn't think it depends on those because my pain goes from the upper teeth to the lower ones where I don't have any problem. Is it possible, on your experience, that a damaged nerve can cause all this pain even in another side of the mouth? I don't know what to do anymore, nobody seems to know what's happening and all I know is I can't stand this pain any longer.
 
Hi, I'm really sorry you're in so much pain and nothing is helping. All I can do is sympathise and hope it gets sorted out soon.

Pain can't cross from one side of the mouth to the other (ie left to right) but it can go from top to bottom teeth and occasionally vice versa. I take it the dentist has tested the nerves in these upper teeth and got normal responses?
 
Thanks Gordon and everybody for your replies and support. After having spent a nightmarish night when all the painkillers I've taken didn't do anything to the massive pain I was feeling, I called my dentist in the morning and he very kindly opened his office for me. He did a partial root canal to three teeth that were under the temporary bridge. One had decays and the other two were damaged very close to the nerve. He said he wasn't sure my pain depended on those teeth but we accordingly decided to rule out this possibility. He told me since he didn't finish the job, that I may experience some pain even if the nerve has been extracted. But that it should be a different kind of pain from my previous one. Of course I'm terrified. Could you please tell me what kind of pain I should expect? Is there a way for me to tell whether it depends from the root canals or if it's still the old unknown problem that hasn't been solved? I know I'm a drag...thanks for your patience.
 
It's a bit late now :)
If the root canals were going to hurt you'll have found out the hard way what it feels like...
If the dentist got most of the damaged nerves out of the teeth then you shouldn't have any pain at all from them.

Please don't consider that you're any kind of a drag, I think you're being extremely brave in not only enduring the kind of pain that you have been, but in sharing your worries in a calm and positive manner with everyone here.

Please accept a cyber-hug from me. (We need a new emoticon for this "Let's") ;D
 

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