Iphigenia

A little history on this tooth. It's the one not directly in the top front, but just to the right of it. My name is Kathy by the way, and I'm 19.

Prior to my serious problems with this tooth, I had one filling and veneers. About five years ago I had a terrible abscess in that tooth and had to get a root canal. A couple years later it came back, but it was worse than before. At the time, I was living away from my parents and didn't have any money, so I just took some antibiotics and the pain went away. I knew the problem was still there, I just didn't have the money to fix it. A year later the problem came back, but the pain was even worse - it was the worst pain I've ever been in my life, and my dentist said it was the worst tooth abscess he'd ever seen. I had an apicoectomy and was hoping that was it.

Several months ago when going to the dentist, I found out that the abscess had come back (same with another tooth, but that tooth wasn't as problematic as this one). It didn't hurt as much this time, I guess because it was chronic. The teeth couldn't be saved and I had to have both of them removed and implants put in. Once again, I had terrible problems with the front tooth. I felt the entire procedure. My mouth could not get numb no matter how much anesthetic he used. It was pretty horrible. It was probably partially due to the fact that the infection was horrible - it had chewed away most of the bone (I had to get a graft). The surgeon said he'd never seen anyone not be able to get numb before quite like that. After the implant was put in, I was in terrible pain for about two weeks and the only painkiller that could even help my pain at all was Combunox (Vicodin, which usually helps, did absolutely nothing). The surgeon couldn't figure out why, the x-rays showed that the implant was placed perfectly. I went through two antibiotic treatments and finally the pain subsided.

A couple days ago, the area was opened up. They put on a healing cap and then I went to my dentist to get the temporary crown. They said there shouldn't be any pain. Not quite so. I was in terrible pain all day and couldn't bite down on anything, not even gently. Today I went back to the dentist and he didn't understand why the tooth itself was hurting. He could understand the gums hurting, but not why it hurt to bite down. He sent me to my surgeon. He did x-rays too, and found nothing wrong either. He was puzzled and gave me antibiotics and more pain killers.

Has anyone had a similar problem? This tooth is a living hell and no matter what I do, treatment seems to fail. It gives me abnormal, excruciating pain. While most people with the procedures I've had done can take a few ibuprofen and go back to work the next day, I'm stuck in bed for weeks in agony. And I don't think I'm just a wimp; I never have this problem with any other tooth, and I've had plenty of work done (about six root canals, a couple crowns, and probably more than twenty fillings). It's just so frustrating. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.