Tooth #18 needs to be pulled - Dental Health Message Board

blahblah · 01-22-2008, 12:46 PM

Hi -

I had a hairline fracture in tooth #18 2 years ago - we believe it was fractured due to my grinding because I have TMJD. The tooth had a TINY filling in it - so it was bonded, but that did not work and the pain increased so I had root canal in it. However the tooth continued to bother me. I had a # of endodontists look at the tooth and no one believed the root canal should be redone. Some thought the pain was due to my TMJD but others thought it was due to the fracture.

Here I am 2 years later - had some TMJD treatment done, with splint therapy etc - and I should also add that my bite has shifted significantly throughout the period - no one knows if the shift is due to trauma from TMJD or possibly one of the splints. No one will EVER know. I do know that the bite is bad and my dentist said people are typically BORN with a bad bite like this - it doesn't just develop over 18 months or so!

I had childhood orthodontia but my teeth have become crowded again and as I said my bite is horrible - it is totally open with the exception of where my wisdom teeth hit in the back.

I still have tooth #18 in - it has a gold crown. The crown has been adjusted a zillion times and it isnt even hitting a tooth above it, but bottom line is has to come out AND I need braces to correct the bad bite otherwise it is EVERYONE's opinion (I have consulted with a # of docs) that my bite will get worse, teeth will drift and my TMJD pain will get worse.

I must add that in the last 3 months my TMJD pain has drastically been reduced to nothing- possibly because a lot of stress in my life has disappeared.

Anyway - thankfully I never had the tooth pulled and an implant put in because you can't move an implant with orthodontia!

I will have to have the tooth pulled before I get my braces - but what will happen to the hole in the meantime? Will the tooth erupt above it while I have my braces on? I realize once my braces are off - I will then get an implant - YUK!

I know I will discuss all this with my orthodontist - just wondering if anyone here has gone through something similiar.

mop · 02-02-2008, 03:20 PM

Hi there. I just had #19 pulled. We knew it was cracked, but the endodontist couldn't perform a root canal, because the crack was too deep.
I have TMJ also, my teeth are small. I have been grinding my teeth since 1984. I wear a mouthguard, but I must also grind during the day.
My gum pain is unbearable! Now, two of my front teeth hurt like H***! My oral surgeon pulled the tooth 1-30-08, and in the next 2 months, I will get the dental implant put in.
If I take the Tylenol with codeine, I just feel like I'm going to be sick.
I have never had teeth problems. Maybe 3 cavities, that's it. I did break a tooth (upper right, second from back, sorry, don't know the number), and have to put the crown on it. Had to have the gum receeded, because there was too much gum tissue.
I also am bipolar, so my panic attacks have been way up.
Good luck. Have someone drive you to your tooth extraction, take you home, and be with you all day. I was in agony!

blahblah · 02-04-2008, 07:34 AM

Hi -

Thanks for the feedback. My tooth had a very, very small hairline fracture. It didn't even extend pass the gumline - atleast not that they could see.
But boy did it cause me pain! The pain in the tooth now is nothing like the pain caused by the fracture or the pain after the first round of root canal treatment.
It is now tolerable but I know it is not right.

My TMJ pain has subsided almost entirely. In my case there is no doubt in my mind it was associated with stress.

I am consulting with an orthodontist on Wednesday as my dentist is urging me to have my bite straightened out. I have an open bite that presented after
my TMJ began. I'm sure the ortho will ask that I have the tooth pulled before orthodontia begins.

Take care and good luck!

mop · 02-04-2008, 09:37 AM

Hi there. I have 3 kids, have had 4 c-sections (one was stillborn 20 years ago), have had 3+ d&cs, gallbladder out, two bunions removed, appendix out, you get the picture. And I have NEVER had pain like I have had in the last week!
I thought I could cut it without pain meds. Oh no. I just took 2 Tylenol with codeine.
I quit my job in December. Who would have thought I'd be spending all of this time in dentists' chairs?!
Good luck with your appointment on Wednesday. I see my oral surgeon Thursday. I called him yesterday, because every time I took the Amoxcillin he prescribed, I itched like crazy! He said I didn't need to take any more antibiotics. Then, I was worried, what if my gums were infected? Oh well. You know how it is, this tooth pain makes you crazy! (And I was already crazy! haha)
Take care.

blahblah · 02-04-2008, 09:47 AM

Wow - so sorry for your pain! You sound like you really have had it bad - far worse then me! And I am sure the gum pain compounds it.

I have a decent pain threshold. I went through breast augmentation, tonsilectomy as an adult, bunion and hammer toe surgery - all were quite easy on me. I think the tonsilectomy was the worst though.

My root canal pain the day of my first treatment was quite bad - and nothing helped it, but luckily it subsided in a day or so.

My TMJ pain, though annoying and painful was nothing like recovering from foot or breast surgery.

Best of luck!