Teeth Pain - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

temo · 01-17-2003, 11:11 AM

Hello all. One of my symptoms is teeth pain, Sometimes worse than others. Not necessarily at any particular time either. I have been told that I clench by a dentist who did an equilibration on my bite (which did not help), and I have been told by other dentists/specialists that there is no evidence of clenching. I never really wake up feeling like I have clenched, but who knows. I do have pain most mornings, but it is usually just a continuation of the day and night before symptoms. I remember reading somewhere that teeth pain does not always necessarily come from clenching when you have TMJ problems. Anyone have any comments on this? My teeth are killing me today, and I know from my recent general dentist visit that I have no current cavities etc.. Thanks.

Tom

sunshine123 · 01-17-2003, 04:56 PM

Hi Tom: I can relate b/c all of my teeth are sensitive even though I use a RX toothpaste, and I get shooting pains in them too. I do clench and grind and sometimes the splint I wear on the bottom teeth causes more tooth pain. Is your pain a soreness, sensitivity or shooting pain situation? I'm so sick of going through this. My overall tooth pain started in March after a knee surgery in late Jan. I guess I was grinding like mad in my sleep due to the pain. So far only one of my teeth feels better. That's a lower molar that my DDS sent me to the Endodontist about. It turns out I don't need a root canal. I guess the adjustments to the splint helped relieve pressure on that tooth, but that's about it. I hope you get some answers and some pain relief. Keep me posted on how you're doing. Sue PS I forgot to mention that I take a low dose Xanax before bed which helps me sleep and may reduce the tooth pain a little bit.

Cymy Sue · 01-19-2003, 02:21 AM

Tom,
Sometimes it can be from nerve irritation. I have surgical nerve damage, but I think anytime you're having any kind of spasms or face and joint pain, the nerves, usually trigeminal, get irritated.
I had awful pain in four teeth(top left)for several years. I had the one that appeared to be hurting the worst pulled years ago and had a bridge put in. The other 3 continued to hurt as if there was an infection or abcess.
I would go to the Dentist, get x-rays, and there would be nothing. I thought I was grinding or clenching on that side. 2 years ago, I could not stand it any longer and had root canals in the remaining three teeth. The endo said there was nothing wrong with the teeth and he hated to "gut" 3 teeth, but the pain was unbearable. The pain came back, which should be impossible with the nerves gone, but it was unbearable again. This time, it seemed I could pinpoint which tooth was hurting the worst(one that the bridge was attached to.) The bridge came off and I had that tooth pulled. Perfectly good tooth and now another bridge to span 2 spaces. The pain was gone. All they ( the Endo, Dentist, and OS ) could figure out, was that the tissue around the roots was irritated due to nerve problems. The pain flared back up a few months ago, but the Endo said he hated to "gut" anymore good teeth, ask me to wait a while and see if it would settle down. I waited, the pain has settled down and hopefully won't come back.
I would not advise anyone to start having good teeth pulled or canaled. I had this pain for many years before I took such drastic measures.
I don't know if their opinion on the cause of the pain was correct. It does seem possible that if the facial nerves are irritated, it could present as tooth pain or ache.
I was having a lot more nerve pain (stinging and burning) around my ears and joint area during this period. I was having the Trigeminal "zaps" several times a day. That has gotten better, and again, the tooth pain is gone.
I'm sure there are many causes, this is just one theory.
I hope you all find the cause of your pain,
Cymy Sue

Pedro · 01-20-2003, 09:28 AM

Tom,

Brief experience from another Jersey guy (well, a transplant).

Teeth "annoyance" was maybe my principal symptom for years (I was never a surgery case, etc). Recently I have made a breakthru: it was determined that my jaw muscles were simply in the wrong place, this was in turn due to some of my teeth being in the wrong place. The cause: orthodontics many years ago. Simple enough, but the consequences all these years have been personally devastating.

The point is that: muscle discomfort will manifest itself as teeth discomfort, a kind of "referred" pain. My bite felt "off" for years; when "dead-level", it would find a new way to be "off".

In my case, adjusments allowed my lower jaw to come forward. Another good aspect of this is that it is easier to swallow subconsciously (more necessary than yawning, I understand), as my jaw muscles are less "bunched" as they were.

Anyway, I am optimistic that I am at last seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but that was one long $%&^#*@ tunnel, excuse me.

temo · 01-21-2003, 08:38 AM

Thanks for the response Pedro. Last time I had splint therapy, the objective according to the specialist was to bring my lower jaw down a little and forward a little. Sounds similar to the adjustments you mentioned. What exactly is helping you? Adjustments using a splint, or some sort of dental work? Whatever it is, it's great that you are seeing some results. What part of Jersey are you in?