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Afraid this pain will never go away

C

crysania

Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2018
Messages
57
I'm probably panicked over nothing, I don't know. I didn't go to the dentist for 13 years, finally went last year because of pain and had an awful ordeal that lasted months (my story is on here somewhere).

Then a little while ago I started to get pain again from the last molar left on my upper right side (molar is the far back one just before the wisdom tooth I got extracted). I could see where there was a cavity (turned out there were 2) and I finally got the nerve to go back.

Definitely a couple cavities. At least this time there was no discussion of their being DEEP cavities. But at least one of them (the one on the gum line on the outside of my molar) was bad enough or situated in such a place that it caused pain.

So yesterday, they did the filling. It went ok, I think. They seemed to think it did. The tooth doesn't seem to be hurting, but my cheek is SO SORE. Especially the inside of my cheek, right around where it meets my gum line. I think maybe caused by all the stretching and pressing they did to get access to that back molar?

Is it normal for this to hurt as much as it does? I feel like someone punched me in the side of the mouth. Is the pain going to go away? I'm just scared that they did some sort of irreparable damage and I need to live with cheek pain now. I don't know...I become such a mess over these things. As a clarinet player, I worry CONSTANTLY that some dental problem is going to cause an issue where I can no longer play. So help?
 
Every time I get anything done at the dentist, my gums and inside of my lip/cheek are sore afterwards. I almost always get canker sores where the injections were as well. So yes, it can be normal. It should decrease each day.
 
Some topical anesthetics can cause ulcers
 
It goes away. No worries. It’s just matter of few days. I used some mouth ulcers cream and also took b complex with vit c.
 
I didn't know that either! So far I don't think I have any ulcers. But it's uncomfortable. It does seem better today. Still sore, but more weird feeling than straight up painful like it was yesterday. Hopefully it'll fade over the next few days. I always get panicked when there's issues with my mouth! I can deal with anything else, but not that!
 
I didn't know that either! So far I don't think I have any ulcers. But it's uncomfortable. It does seem better today. Still sore, but more weird feeling than straight up painful like it was yesterday. Hopefully it'll fade over the next few days. I always get panicked when there's issues with my mouth! I can deal with anything else, but not that!

I understand. I have no fear or anxiety when it comes to health concerns, and am not the slightest bit squeamish about blood or surgical procedures. When it comes to dental, though, I start shaking just thinking about a dental procedure.
 
I admit I'm pretty squeamish about blood! But I can deal with pain most anywhere but my mouth. I'm used to knee pain and wrist pain and neck pain. But the instant there's a little in my mouth, I go into a complete panic. I was lucky that I had nothing happen for years. Unfortunately that meant just pretending the dentist didn't exist and then lots of work when it all caught up to me. I'm hoping this is the end of it. But that doesn't help my anxiety over the pain! I have a concert in a little over a week (with one rehearsal on Monday) so I'm really hoping this all is mostly resolved by then.
 
So it's been a week and I'm still in pain. Sometimes it's ok, but other times it starts to throb and I have to take ibuprofen. It's alternately sensitive to cold and then not so sensitive. I don't know if any of this is normal or if there's something wrong. I'm very frustrated with this whole process. I understand that there will be sensitivity and it IS sensitive (mostly to cold, but also pressure to some degree), but the throbbing on and off seems unusual?
 
Something isn't right, go back and ask them to take a look at it for you.
 
I'm going back today. I have a bad feeling about this place from reading reviews (Aspen Dental) and worry that they've screwed this up. I was NOT in pain like this before I went in. It would occasionally have a twinge of pain and felt kind of weird, but now it's throbbing and if I don't keep up with Ibuprofen I'm in a lot of pain.

Both times I've had this done, I've been in more pain than before. Last time I was told it was a deep cavity and since the filling didn't work, I needed a root canal or an extraction (opted for the latter). I wasn't told this one was deep, just a regular cavity. There was no discussion of should it be a root canal like the last time, so I thought the experience would be different. Nope. I'm afraid I'm about to lose another molar (which means I've lost all upper molars on one side of my mouth) and I worry that it's THEIR incompetence that is causing this.

Depending on what they say, this may be time for another opinion. But I have a lot of anxiety over calling places and seeing new people and a lot of fear of the unknown when it comes to dentists, so I'm not happy about that.
 
Thanks. I'll check out that!

And as it turns out -- they hit the pulp. So now it's root canal or extraction (can't afford the former, so goodbye tooth!). They shaved the tooth back a bit to adjust my bite, which helped take the pressure off the tooth. I get it extracted next Thursday.
 
Thanks. I'll check out that!

And as it turns out -- they hit the pulp. So now it's root canal or extraction (can't afford the former, so goodbye tooth!). They shaved the tooth back a bit to adjust my bite, which helped take the pressure off the tooth. I get it extracted next Thursday.
I urge u not to extract the tooth. Please check other doc. May be root canal can wait for couple of days. Please think twice before extraction. I lost my 2 good molars similar way. Life is not the same and never will be.
 
I urge u not to extract the tooth. Please check other doc. May be root canal can wait for couple of days. Please think twice before extraction. I lost my 2 good molars similar way. Life is not the same and never will be.

I'm not really sure what choice I have at this point. I have to do something for the pain because I sure can't live like this. I'm actually not getting it extracted until next week because of extenuating circumstances (I have a concert on Friday and so cannot get an extraction just a couple days before that). But still, the root canal cost is not going to magically be reduced to something I can pay between now and next week. And my chances of winning the lottery are pretty slim.

I've lost one molar on that side already and my life didn't change. How did your life change so drastically from losing the teeth?
 
I'm not really sure what choice I have at this point. I have to do something for the pain because I sure can't live like this. I'm actually not getting it extracted until next week because of extenuating circumstances (I have a concert on Friday and so cannot get an extraction just a couple days before that). But still, the root canal cost is not going to magically be reduced to something I can pay between now and next week. And my chances of winning the lottery are pretty slim.

I've lost one molar on that side already and my life didn't change. How did your life change so drastically from losing the teeth?

I also had two molars on the same side removed (lower bottom). One was a filling that turned into the pulp getting aggravated, and the other was a crown prep that also aggravated the pulp. Both times I had a vital tooth prior. The filling was a tiny one. I know that in my case it was not the fault of the dentist, as mine is quite good. My teeth just seem to be very sensitive to work done.

As badpatch was saying, it is hard when you lose both molars. I didn't have the option of a root canal, as they don't work for me (had two, both failed for no apparent reason). It makes chewing quite difficult. It also affects your bite, putting more pressure on your first molars on the other side. Mine are cracked now, due to the increased pressure caused by losing molars. I can't get them crowned, as that would probably cause the pulp to be aggravated.

I understand completely if it is just not possible financially, but if you can swing it, I would try. Even if it means putting it on credit card, or going through Care Credit. I am now getting implants so that I can actually chew again. It has been a year since I have been able to eat anything harder than pasta. They are much pricier than a root canal and crown would have been.
 
Weirdly enough I think I've always chewed mostly on my left side (these are on my right, both upper molars). With the one missing tooth that's been there for a year, I've noticed I rarely chew on that side and I don't feel like I'm doing anything really different or favoring it.

And unfortunately I'm still paying off last year's work...and my car repairs that keep cropping up. With very little in the bank and even more on credit cards it's just not financially possible. I guess we'll see how it goes with the teeth missing. They mentioned getting a partial so I suppose I could eventually go that route if I could afford it. But as it is, even the hit for the filling was a hard one to take. And that's WITH insurance. It's INSANE how little is actually covered for dental work.
 
Hi crysania,
I've been reading about your dental story. I read at one point that you had a bone lump that happened after an extraction that was shaved down. I have a bone lump from extraction on upper rt side and its been there 5 months. How did your bone shaving heal? How long did it take? Are you still having pain in that area?

I've had the OS and dentist look at it and they both said they can shave/file it down. I'm so afraid of this and now I don't trust the OS (another story) so I don't want him doing it. I'm so depressed by this. I can't chew on the right side. I feel like I can't chew side to side only up and down, if that makes sense due to this bony protuberance jutting outward toward my cheek.

thanks in advance for your help.
 
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Hi crysania,
I've been reading about your dental story. I read at one point that you had a bone lump that happened after an extraction that was shaved down. I have a bone lump from extraction on upper rt side and its been there 5 months. How did your bone shaving heal? How long did it take? Are you still having pain in that area? thanks in advance.

Hi! I did have it shaved down. That was last August. I would say that the first couple weeks it was pretty sore. In fact, I went back once because I was worried it wasn't healing. But after about a month it felt pretty good. I WILL say that even now it can be more tender than other gum areas. But it's no longer painful and I was able to play my clarinet (my big worry with all of this!) with no issues (rehearsals started about a month after the bone shaving procedure and while it was VERY tender to the touch still at that point, it wasn't painful to play).

If the bony lump hurts, I would totally get it done. Mine was just irritating enough that I always knew it was there and with the way I have to pull my lips over my teeth to play clarinet, I knew it was going to be painful to play. It was definitely worth it!
 
Crysania,
Thanks for responding. If you don't mind me asking, how many stitches did you have from this bone shaving? Also did your OS/dentist tell you why the bone lump formed in the first place? It freaks me out to think about having this done. It was bad enough with the molar extraction.

When you say that your bony lump hurt, what did yours feel like?
 
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