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Old 02-21-2015, 06:46 PM
 
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Hey guys. I'm hoping somebody around here might be able to advice me about my current situation.

As of about ten days ago, I've been suffering with pain on the left-side of my jaw. It feels like it's from the area just beyond the teeth. I'd recently had a filling done in one of the teeth near it, so I put it down to that and left it a little.

Now it's getting worse. At times the pain is completely unbearable. I've tried over-the-counter painkillers to absolutely no effect. On Friday I went to see a dentist, who looked around in my mouth, found nothing out of place and said it was probably from the filling settling, but that I should see my doctor on Monday incase it was my sinuses playing up, so I have an appointment to see them.

As of the moment, however, it's such an intense pain that I cannot sleep or eat. It comes and goes, and ice and water seem to ease it, although only briefly. None of my teeth are sensitive or painful, and I don't have a fever. The area is also not noticably swollen, though it is a little hotter than the other side. Really It's just sudden, intense pain that seems to spread all around my jaw.

My thinking was maybe that I had done something to one of the muscles, as gentle probing of the area does seem to cause a painful response. Now I'm concerned that I might be looking at an infection. Nobody seems to have a clue what the cause is. Should I be concerned?
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Old 02-22-2015, 04:41 PM
 
Location: prescott az
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Yes you should. Go to a different dentist and get xrays and ask if there is an infection anywhere. Some dentists are better at finding this than others.
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Old 02-22-2015, 10:19 PM
 
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This sounds like myofascial pain disorder, closely related to TMJ disorders. Seek a provider with TMJ experience.

DISCLAIMER: I am a dentist but I'm not your dentist. I am not making diagnosis, I'm just taking an educated guess based on inadequate information. You should seek care with someone who can perform a clinical exam and make a proper diagnosis.
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Old 02-23-2015, 06:37 AM
 
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So after managing to get a couple of hous sleep last night, I went to the doctors this morning. He did some poking around, asked a lot of questions and got me to identify the places where I was having pain. He seemed to be able to trigger the nasty attacks of pain I've been having, and his opinion is that I have Trigeminal Neuralgia. He wants me to go get an x-ray tommorow, and then see an optician (any idea why that would be?) In the meantime I have been given Carbamazepine to help with the pain. I won't be able to see a dentist today now anyway, so I figure I'll see how the meds go and get my x-ray tomorrow, and take it from there.

Thanks to you both for you advice!
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Old 02-23-2015, 07:59 AM
 
13,498 posts, read 18,124,797 times
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Originally Posted by rapsbro View Post
So after managing to get a couple of hous sleep last night, I went to the doctors this morning. He did some poking around, asked a lot of questions and got me to identify the places where I was having pain. He seemed to be able to trigger the nasty attacks of pain I've been having, and his opinion is that I have Trigeminal Neuralgia. He wants me to go get an x-ray tommorow, and then see an optician (any idea why that would be?) In the meantime I have been given Carbamazepine to help with the pain. I won't be able to see a dentist today now anyway, so I figure I'll see how the meds go and get my x-ray tomorrow, and take it from there.

Thanks to you both for you advice!
That was going to be my guess. Good luck with zeroing in on this for sure, and getting some dependable relief.
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Old 02-23-2015, 08:54 AM
 
Location: prescott az
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Hope you are better and will keep posting to update us !
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Old 02-23-2015, 12:26 PM
 
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Rather peculiar update, which I'm hoping somebody with dentistry experience might be able to help me figure out. I've been taking the Carbamazepine, and managed to sleep this afternoon, which felt so good! Since waking up, however, the jaw pain has completely diminished, but now the tooth that was filled has become extremely sensitive and painful. It was perfectly fine when the dentist checked it Friday, and has given me no pain up until today, even when eating and drinking hot/cold foods.

I'm going to assume that there was something in the Trigeminal Neuralgia diagnosis,as I already feel a great deal better. What I'm curious about is whether that could have somehow masked the problems with the tooth, or whether the tooth could have been the 'root' cause of the Trigeminal Neuralgia, or if it was never TN, but just irritation from the nerve in that tooth which spread out, and was eased by the meds? In any case I've booked for my dentists tomorrow, alongside my x-ray, so fingers crossed for an answer!
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Old 02-24-2015, 08:56 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rapsbro View Post
Rather peculiar update, which I'm hoping somebody with dentistry experience might be able to help me figure out. I've been taking the Carbamazepine, and managed to sleep this afternoon, which felt so good! Since waking up, however, the jaw pain has completely diminished, but now the tooth that was filled has become extremely sensitive and painful. It was perfectly fine when the dentist checked it Friday, and has given me no pain up until today, even when eating and drinking hot/cold foods.

I'm going to assume that there was something in the Trigeminal Neuralgia diagnosis,as I already feel a great deal better. What I'm curious about is whether that could have somehow masked the problems with the tooth, or whether the tooth could have been the 'root' cause of the Trigeminal Neuralgia, or if it was never TN, but just irritation from the nerve in that tooth which spread out, and was eased by the meds? In any case I've booked for my dentists tomorrow, alongside my x-ray, so fingers crossed for an answer!
Carbamezapine is the first line treatment for trigemial neuralgia. It is successful in over 90% of cases and if someone does NOT respond favorably, that is a reason to re-think the diagnosis. I do not treat these problems myself because it's too frustrating for both me and patients to bear, but I was exposed to this area in my training.

In this case, I am guessing that trigeminal neuralgia may very well be a component of the symptoms, but it's still possible to have a tooth problem at the same time. This gets very complicated. On one hand, "Occam's Razor" says that a diagnosis which accounts for the majority of symptoms is most likely the correct diagnosis. On the other hand, Sir William Osler said that "a patient can have as many diseases as they choose." In other words, it is certainly possible that the pain of trigemial neuralgia has masked the less-severe pain of a tooth problem and, in fact, there is actually more than one problem at play here. Very complex.
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Old 02-25-2015, 11:14 AM
 
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Thank you very much for your continued responses! Thankfully the Carbamezapine seems to have kept most of the pain in check. I've also now been given a seven day course of antibiotics, as it is now believed that the tooth is infection. I don't know if I'm coming or going these days!

On the plus side, I've now had an x-ray, so answers may be on the horizon! The tooth pain seems to have subsided somewhat in the last 24 hours as well. Not sure if that is a response to the antibiotics or not, but it's certainly a relief.

Current opinion of both doctor and dentist is to try and limit the pain while we await the results of the x-ray, and thankfully I'm now able to sleep and function without too much difficulty. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this!
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Old 03-14-2015, 05:54 PM
 
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I have TN. I was on (still am on) Carbamezapin for over a year, with little relief.
I also just had the gamma knife procedure...pinpint radiation on the trigeminal nerves. After much paranoia about the procedure, it was painless and simple.

Good luck with the doctor and dentist.
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