pain in gums due to stress?

coolcat5 · 10-14-2009, 04:55 PM

Hi,
I am currently been waiting to get a root canal finished and have sufferred huge amounts of anxiety about whether it actually needed doing in the first place. too late now but was wondering if anyone out there had sufferred pain maybe caused by anxiety where no root cause could be found.
my gums are so sore to the touch, but no redness or anything like that.
on low dose amitriptyline but so far no joy except for some horrible side effects (only been 2 days).
my hbd thinks that once i get the root canal done my other symptoms will disappear but i'm not convinced as i have had this for over 2 months and apparently there is nothing wrong.

coolcat5 · 10-14-2009, 04:56 PM

Hi,
I am currently been waiting to get a root canal finished and have sufferred huge amounts of anxiety about whether it actually needed doing in the first place. too late now but was wondering if anyone out there had sufferred pain maybe caused by anxiety where no root cause could be found.
my gums are so sore to the touch, but no redness or anything like that.
on low dose amitriptyline but so far no joy except for some horrible side effects (only been 2 days).
my hbd thinks that once i get the root canal done my other symptoms will disappear but i'm not convinced as i have had this for over 2 months and apparently there is nothing wrong.

Thelma-Louise · 10-15-2009, 12:55 AM

So you had a tooth only partially treated with a root canal procedure? If you needed a root canal in the first place then the nerve was infected or dying and depending on the number of canals the tooth had the 2nd appt would certainly resolve any remaining infection. My endodontist always told me the 2nd appt would get rid of any lingering or residual pain or discomfort in the tooth and it always did so I guess the question is what are you waiting for?

I am assuming then at this point you are more so questioning whether the root canal was necessary or not - a moot point I guess at this stage but the procedure should be completed and the tooth sealed if not crowned to prevent debris from entering the tooth or its canals and causing a problem in the future.

If anxiety over the question of whether you really needed the root canal or not is the real issue it could be you are clenching or grinding your teeth - a rather normal response by some when the body tries to release or resolve the anxiety on its own during sleep time - this may account for gums being sensitive to touch.

coolcat5 · 10-16-2009, 05:10 PM

I have been having a burning type pain in my top gums from my pre-molars on one side right round to the pre-molars on the other side for over 2 months. it gets worse when the gum is stimulated in several areas.
nothing wrong has been found and my gums are perfectly healthy.
i saw an endodontist yesterday who said it could be due to all the stress and anxiety i have been under including waiting to get a root canal finished. anyone else had a similar problem.
tried 10mg amitriptyline for 3 days but saw no improvement and felt awful on it so stopped taking it.
the dentist said to stop stressing but it isn't that simple.

Thelma-Louise · 10-16-2009, 11:14 PM

Which tooth was the root canal started on? It could be what you are experiencing now has nothing to do with the imcomplete root canal. Not sure why you started the amitripyline but since it had no affect then the burning is probably not due to an infection but more of a reaction of some type - like to a new toothpaste, rinse or OTC bleaching or whitening product, perhaps? You may want to go see a periodontist and make sure this is not the early stages of gingavitis. Also there are some OTC rinses designed to treat or soothe gum irritations that you may want to try.