Pain after two root canals Neuralgia or more?

[Acheygirl]

Hi so this has been a rough 5 months.

Late summer of last year I was getting an occasional throb on my upper tooth #12. I kept an eye on it and eventually decided it was not getting better and saw my dentist. He saw a surface crack and warned me it might be a deep crack. Drilled in and said fortunately the crack stopped. Filled it and gave me the name of an Endo if it was not better.

I was ok for a few weeks but it began to hurt again. It would start to throb pretty bad but I would also get a burning sensation in the tooth. I saw an Endo and we opted to root canal the tooth. For a few days it felt good but the pain started to come back. I was questioning if it was the neighboring tooth. I went back to the endo and we retreated it with medication. Went home and gave it 3 weeks. It still hurt so we went in again and retreated. It never felt good since. So I went back and asked if it could be cracked? He said he did not see cracks while inside the tooth but took a 3d Xray. He said everything looked good no cracks visible but after testing around it seemed the neighboring tooth was problematic so we did a root canal on that tooth. I thought maybe there was some relief but two weeks later the pain returned.

#12 feels strange to pressure when it's flared up. Tapping on it or pushing up on the bottom of it causes mild pain. When I push up on the neighboring teeth I also feel a strange sensation on the entire left upper side of my jaw. I can't explain it just feels strange pressure. I also get this feeling of vicks vapor rub coolness in the tooth socket and gum area mixed with an ache pain. Tylenol helps.

I am wondering a few things. No cracks showing up on the xrays, there was no infection in either tooth that I had root canals on but both were inflamed pulp. Should I pull these teeth or could it be neuralgia? Where do I go from here? The endo has exhausted all avenues here.

Is anyone else in the same boat? I have always had fear of the dentist as my childhood dentist was aggressive and filled almost every tooth in my mouth. This is a nightmare and I am getting very scared that I will have to start removing teeth at this point but I don't want to make things worse.

 

[Niall Neeson]

Hi there,
Sounds like a really tough few months for you. Discomfort if this type can be challenging to accurately diagnose as a number of different factors can cause/ contribute to this. I often find it helpful to begin to rule out things that could be contributing.

Are you ever aware of clenching or grinding of your teeth? It’s common that people do and it’s actually common that people aren’t aware of it. Such habits, usually at night, can apply excessive stresses through teeth and their supporting ligaments etc and cause discomfort. It can also affect the rate of healing of other dental issues.

If you don’t wear a splint/ guard at night it may be worth having one made by your dentist to see if it makes a difference. It can be used to aid diagnosis as well as a protective measure so it’s a win win in my book.

That’s usually my first place to begin if something behaving in this manner.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[AshNaz]

There are some others who have had issues similar to yours - look up similar posts to see them - they may be helpful - if for no other reason to know that you are not alone.

 

[Acheygirl]

Hi thank you so much for your reply. I can sense the frustration in my Dentist and Endodontist. Not in a negative way but that they have exhausted many avenues. I feel very bad to put them in this position.

I think grinding and clenching have been an issue I would wake up clenched so when the pain started and after the first root canal I did purchase one of those moldable mouth pieces just to give me some buffer. I don't know if this is good but perhaps better then nothing for now? I did not want to opt for the one the dentist makes just yet as I might end up losing the teeth?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply I really do appreciate that.

 

[Niall Neeson]

Probably better than nothing but nowhere near as effective as professionally-made and adjusted guard/ splint.

It could save the teeth from being lost. Also, worst case scenario, even if the teeth were lost, it would likely actually still fit fine and would still be of beneficial protection to the other teeth

 

[AshNaz]

Hi thank you so much for your reply. I can sense the frustration in my Dentist and Endodontist. Not in a negative way but that they have exhausted many avenues. I feel very bad to put them in this position.

I think grinding and clenching have been an issue I would wake up clenched so when the pain started and after the first root canal I did purchase one of those moldable mouth pieces just to give me some buffer. I don't know if this is good but perhaps better then nothing for now? I did not want to opt for the one the dentist makes just yet as I might end up losing the teeth?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply I really do appreciate that.

If you can not find some of the other threads that have similar information let me know and I can point you in that direction. I have found this board to be so helpful.

 

[Acheygirl]

Probably better than nothing but nowhere near as effective as professionally-made and adjusted guard/ splint.

It could save the teeth from being lost. Also, worst case scenario, even if the teeth were lost, it would likely actually still fit fine and would still be of beneficial protection to the other teeth

Thank you so much. I see my dentist next week and I will mention this to him. I want to do whatever I can to help the problem. Again many thanks for taking the time to respond I really appreciate it.

 

[Acheygirl]

If you can not find some of the other threads that have similar information let me know and I can point you in that direction. I have found this board to be so helpful.

Thank you so much. I saw we are both in that one thread on cracked teeth but if you know others here also in the same boat I would love some more info.