The short version of my story is that I have had jaw pain under two back molars for a year now. Dentists, endodontists and oral surgeons could find nothing wrong so it is being treated as a neuropathy for the time being. Anyway, I have two crowns (no root canals) on these back two molars. They have never been sensitive to cold or tapping when tested by the endo., but sometimes are sensitive to bite pressure if I bite just the right way.

Anyway, for the past week or so I have noted a metallic taste coming from these crowned teeth on the back (tongue) side along the gumline. Is this from the metal part of the crown? Could it be an abscess? I thought that any taste from an abscess would be foul, not metallic, but now I'm wondering. Am I just being paranoid? I just don't want to pay yet another $100 for a consult with an endo. just to be told he can't find anything wrong. Anybody else experience this and what caused it? Thanks for your help!

It's from the metal in the crowns themselves reacting with a silver filling or other type of metal restoration. If it's an infection of some sort, you would get a really foul odor and bad taste in your mouth, much like if you have a bad cold or sinus problem and your sinuses are draining. It's not a metallic taste.

The term for this is called galvanism. It's when two different types of metals are mixed with your saliva, a chemical reaction takes place producing the metallic type taste. This usually doesn't last long. If it does, you may consider having your silver fillings reoplaced and/or have a different type of crown placed on the teeth.