Can you Sprain/Bruise a Tooth?

General General TN & GPN (Old Site)
1

Not been on here for a while, the pain keeps bringing me back.

Due to loosing so many teeth through bilateral ATN (TN Type 2), it just doesn't stop.

I was eating a bowl of soft vegetable soup, I bit down on something hard, this has now triggered tremendous pain. Is it the TN pain, or is the tooth damaged?

I visited the dentist yesterday only to be told, the tooth looks ok, they had taken an X-ray, all seems fine. But! he did say there was a small line that he wasn't sure if it was a fracture, or normal formation of the root structure.

The dentist said I have to give it time, the tooth could either be sprained, bruised, or could have a small fracture, only time will tell.

In the meantime, I am in tremendous pain. The tooth itself just feels tender/achy, the majority of the pain is all up in my gums/jaw along the top where my other molars were. I keep getting throbs, sharp jabs ontop on the sever constant ache all on my left side of my head.

I feel like I am dying, my body just wants to self destruct, I am falling apart. Why? Why? Why?

Please God, just give me a break, I cant stand this anymore.

2

I feel so sorry for all of us suffering in pain that can’t get answers. I’m in the same boat as you. Every day is a struggle but we have to remain strong and pray for better days. I know how extremely hard it is. Don’t give up

3

First of all, you need to find a dentist that wants to find the cause as much as you do. They are out there. I just had a very similar situation. It sounds to me like you have several things going on… And one might absolutely be a fractured tooth. I just went through a similar issue. The way to tell is usually a fracture only hurts really bad when you bite on it. If it hurts all the time, and if you already had tn, the pain from the fracture can be triggering your already sensitive nerve… But most of the actual pain may be from the TN. The easy, quick way to tell is to have the dentist numb up the tooth and jaw. If you still have pain, or even more, it’s the TN pain, which is probably being triggered by the tooth or the irritation in your gum. If the pain goes away, it’s probably the tooth only. The main thing is to find a dentist that knows TN who can work with you to get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, wearing a hard dental splint can help a lot because it helps distribute the load of chewing between several teeth. It was the only way to calm my TN and my teeth at the same time. I had one made by a dentist I saw in Mexico, but I’m sure any dentist can make them. You can’t use the mouth guards sold online because they are too soft and will cause you to chew and possibly make the problem worse. It has to be hard plastic molded to your teeth. Make sure they don’t make the mold/splint too tight or the discomfort from that will set off the TN too. Hope this helps… Hang in there. It’s a tough disease but there is always hope that you will find a solution and end up helping others with your experiences.

4

Thank you Jennifer, thank you Bonnie,

I thought the pain was easing last night, but this morning the pain is still there. The tooth doesn't hurt when I eat on it, or when I press firmly, the pain is up in the gum/jaw area all around the area towards the rear of the mouth.

The dentist I saw reckons the tooth is sprained, to give it time to settle, I just hope he is correct. He said because I suffer TN, the trauma has triggered the TN pain.

I have asked many people (family and friends) have they ever bitten on something hard, did they get tremendous pain all down oneside afterwards, they all have said no.

This is what I dont understand, why am I not normal like everyone else, why cant I just get a simple toothache? Why do I get unbelievable pain that doesn't go away, or takes forever to go away.?

... and who else do you know that can get this pain from eating a bowl of soft vegetable soup ? its beyond belief.

Forgive me, but I am feeling sorry for myself.

5

I have “toothaches” all the time. It always ends up being due to Tn. I had one tooth that hurt every day for over a year and now it is fine. It is the nerves not the teeth. It always breaks my heart when I read of people having multiple extractions trying to get rid of the pain. My whole mouth is messed up bc of TN. I’m sorry u r having a hard time.

6

Yes, you can sprain and bruise a tooth. Generally it either recovers (reversible pulpitis) or the pulp inside starts to die and you need a root canal (irreversible pulpitis). Your dentist should be able to diagnose it with an x-ray and a pulp vitality test.

My pulp vitality tests have always come back as inconclusive because of the neuralgia, so my dentists have generally taken a wait and see approach, and things have always settled down with time.

If dental inflammation is suspected to be the culprit, you could get your dentist to prescribe some antibiotics and corticosteroids, which generally would settle down a regular toothache pretty quickly. If that doesn't work, it's probably the neuralgia...

Caveat: I'm not a dentist but I've visited a lot of dentists because of this. Same old story as many people here, haha.

7

Day 6.
The pain seems a little better this morning, I'm having pain free moments.

The pain is also moving along to the bottom teeth, referred pain as its known, or is this my TN?

Would this indicate a sprained/bruised tooth, or a fractured tooth, or TN that has been made worst?

Its obvious I've traumatised the tooth by biting on something hard, I just cannot believe the amount of pain this is causing in my jaw and gums.

The tooth itself is only a little tender, I can still eat on the tooth, the tooth isn't instantly sensitive at all. The pain is all up in my jaw area, all along top and bottom row of teeth like before when my TN was at its worst.

8

Day 7.

The pain has got worst, yesterday evening the pain came back just like it was on the first day. I dont understand, as the pain was easing yesterday for most of the day.

I'm having alot of referred pain along top and bottom teeth, throbbing waves of pain that comes and goes.

The tooth is still not instantly sensitive to hot or cold, I can still put pressure on the tooth without any discomfort.

This is driving me mad, not knowing, having to face going back to the dentist and most probably having yet another tooth extracted, all because of a bowl of soup.

My next dentist visit is next week, that will be exactly 14 days from when the pain started. I am wondering will this pain have got better by then, or will the pain be the same, or will the pain have gotten worst?

The worry and fear is simply awful, I dont understand what is going on. I cant help thinking the tooth is damaged (fractured), I cant help thinking the tooth is just sprained/bruised? The tooth could be both fractured and bruised, or maybe the tooth is simply ok, maybe its the ATN that is causing all the pain?

Why does my dentist not know? they meant to be trained.

Its like a living hell.

9

I think you should wait before going back to the dentist and having any extractions. Perhaps talk to your doctor about increasing your neuralgia medications. Procedures on the teeth are irreversible and could make things worse.

10

Hi Toothache, I would love to agree with you, and believe me I am trying my best to wait this out.

However, today I had another appointment with the same dental practice as I was in alot of pain, but this time I saw a different dentist.

He told me he could not see any crack/fracture on the tooth, or on the X-ray, he said the line on the X-ray was the root structure, not a fracture. But! he did say the chances are the tooth has a micro crack which is hard to see on X-rays, the tooth would need work, or an extraction.

He told me to wait another week, if no better, then its up to me. But! he is adamant that the tooth is fractured, he has seen this sort of thing one too many times.

I am living in hope that the tooth isn't fractured, and that the pain has gone by next week.

11

Update! Since my previous post 40mins ago, I am having the most weird experience.

Please believe me, this is something I have mentioned before. The pain has moved across to the right side of my head/face, the pain is still there as I sit and type this to you all.

I have not had TN pain on the right side for sometime, and now I am experiencing pain on my right side up in the gum area towards the back where there are no rear molars.

All this has started since the impact on my upper left molar from biting down on something hard, the pain has always been on the left side surrounding the said tooth. These past 30 minutes I have felt the pain move over to my right side and lesson on my left, the pain is still on my right side now, its a moving throbbing burning pain that is up in the rear gum bone cheek area.

I thought this was impossible, even though this has happened to me on several occasions in the past.

12

I am bilateral and the pain bounces back and forth or will spend days and weeks on one side. Bilateral isn’t as rare as most drs think

13

Please please get an MRI with contrast now. Stop pulling teeth, and send that MRI to Dr. John Alksne at UC San Diego medical school. He will read it personally and he will tell you if there is trigeminal neuralgia a blood vessel on your nerves. Many of the MVD surgeries can fail because when you have surgery they put in a foreign body of Teflon shielding that your body can reject. Dr. Alksne has pioneered a procedure that uses the your own tissue to gently tack the blood vessel away from the nerve And he’s done 2000 of these procedures in the last 50 years. He will read your MRI and call you the same day. The sooner you get in and get this fixed the more chance that it will not become chronic and then it won’t fix it all and you will live with insane pain! He is 70 years young with a grip of steal. Do not wait until he retires because he is a miracle worker who fixed me completely after I thought I had sprained my teeth. I swore I had a fracture, and if someone hadn’t shook me upside the head and told me to send my MRI to this guy, I would’ve been so bad he couldn’t fix it anymore! I’m completely healed laying in icu at Thornton hospital in San Diego 3 days post op. Get yourself to the best. You deserve a life free of TN!

14

By the way: I could’ve sworn my tooth was fractured. My whole mouth seemed swollen in that front area. I cussed out my dentist when he told me he couldn’t find the fracture and I went to three others who also couldn’t find it. Today as I am three days postop, my teeth don’t hurt at all. Might bite is back to normal, no swelling no pain when eating a cracker, which I hadn’t done in six months without a mouth guard in my mouth. It’s a highly deceptive disease, and it plays all kinds of mind tricks on you. don’t be afraid of surgery, it’s a few days of pain for a life free of suicidal pain.

15

I have been having severe pain in the left side of my mouth . Pain radiates through sinuses into my left eye. I have started having problems with vision in my left eye. It gets so bad sometimes I can't function.

I had tooth pulled on the left side about 2 weeks ago but it has not helped the pain. Is this ever going to get better.

I'm trying to work but I can't even hold down a part-time job. I have been trying to get on disability for 1 1/2 years and no luck yet. Sometimes I feel as if I'm at the end of my rope.

16

Is all this normal for TN. ?

17

Hi I’m in the hospital in ICU for days after trigeminal neuralgia surgery that fixed my T.N. I learned the most explosive information from my neurosurgeon today. He tells me that neurologists don’t know how to read radiology or MRI scans for trigeminal neuralgia,. Period. Please excuse me I’m using talk to text because I can’t yet see the letters on cell phone. Dr John Alksne has done 2000 MVD surgeries over 60 years of his life, And two years ago he found an even better procedure then micro vascular decompression surgery with Teflon pads. He said new research showed that MVD would reappear because the Teflon would cause new scarring in the on the vessel in some people between in between five and 10 years after surgery. Now he is the only doctor doing microvascular decompression without teflon sheets or other foreign bodies in your brain except for one small titanium clip that he uses to gently make a sling of your 10 Tory him tissue and gently lift the vessel from the nerve permanently out of the way. My am R I MR I M are I showed no unusual vessels on the nerve to the radiologist to read it, to the neurologist at Stanford who read it and to the knowledge it and to the neurologist at UCLA who read it. They told me I was type to two and then I would never be better except if I took mind numbing medications for the rest of my life. I’m a top concert pianist and I own two Conservatories of music. I refuse to live in her bed without my mind for the rest of my life if I don’t have to. I mean no disrespect to people who have been in bed and in the room for so many years in this horrible suicidal disease. It took me six months just to figure out that I even had it because I was in such denial of it. I had never heard of it before. All of a sudden I had this huge disease that was in curable and I could not wrap my brain around it because it felt like a stupid toothache that never went away and got worse and worse and worse and worse no matter how many tooth I root canaled or how many sinus medications I took or how many antibiotics I took or how many dentists endodontist and oral surgeons I consulted with. My mouth felt swollen my glands were swollen my teeth didn’t fit together anymore I swore I had an infection. Today, four days postop, I ate a cracker with peanut butter on it for the first time in six months. I cannot describe the feeling of chewing with teeth that are not painful when I swore they were the cause of my pain. This is trigeminal neuralgia I don’t know when Dr. Alksne Will retire. If you ever want the best chance of getting better permanently like I just did please send your MRI and your story to him so he can read it. He called me personally one hour after he got my films and told me which vessel was on my nerves. Many people have vessels on their nerves that cause no problems. There are two diagnostic criteria that are very simple that you can have your doctor start with to see if you truly have trigeminal neuralgia that is fixable. If you take oxcarbazepine and the pain goes away in three or four weeks, that’s diagnostic. If you also have shooting electrical face pain you have TN. Period. Two things delayed my treatment, and caused me to go through months of needless suffering. They were both fear-based, but they were my process. My original pain was deep heavy pain. Since some people especially neurologists say that type two is not treatable with surgery, I didn’t even know I had hope to get away from it. Also, I hated the way oxcarbazepine made it made me feel I’m a highly productive person. I felt it was unbearable to not be able to remember things for work, but in the scope of my whole life this was such a short time. I quit the meds too soon. I should’ve given it a much harder try but I didn’t think I had trigeminal. Was it not for a dear lady in Texas I have yet to meet who told me to get my films to Alksne I would still be suffering or have died. It did get that bad that fast.

18

This dear lady is 1 1/2 years post op, and she says trigeminal is a distant memory up of boggy time in her life. I want that for you. Please don’t wait get this done and take care of yourself. For those of you who have suffered for years with this horrific pain, I feel such compassion. How unbearable. Perhaps you could give the top neurosurgeon in the world a chance to fix you. He has dedicated his entire life to TN patients and their healing and I fear what will happen when he retires. He is sharp as a tack, with rock steady hands and a team of the top neurosurgeons in the world. He founded the UC San Diego neurology department and was dean of the medical school for years. The hospital he practices at was designed by Hilton hotels as a high five star resort for medical treatment. It is unbelievably beautiful. You are put in a private ICU suite for almost your entire stay, with your own private team of first class top-of-the-line nursing staff. Don’t get me wrong, surgery is tough. But I imagine eating a cracker with peanut butter on it and you can get through it! If anyone wants to speak to me privately please let me know. I would love to help you get in touch with this amazing medical team.

19

Thank you so much to you all for your advice, it is very much appreciated.

I'm in doubts that this pain is just my TN pain, due to the trauma to the tooth in question when biting down hard on something while eating.

I visited another Dentist again today, this is now the third dentist in 10 days. I hoping the first and the third dentist are correct, that time is a healer.

The first Dentist said the tooth looked ok, took an X-Ray and wasn't sure if the tooth had a fracture or not. He said to wait and see if the pain gets worst, if it does... the tooth will have to be extracted.

The second Dentist said the tooth looked ok, took no X-Ray, and said the tooth will have a micro fracture. He said he could save the tooth by drilling, filling and putting a crown on it, or have it extracted.

The third dentist said the tooth looked ok, took an X-Ray and said the tooth looks fine. He could not see no cracks, he even enlarged the image and still no signs of a fracture.

This Dentist asked me... does the pain wake me at night, I said yes.

He ask's... are you laying on the left side with the sprained tooth, I said 'yes'

He ask's... do you turn over and the pain stops, I say 'yes'

He says that is because the blood is rushing to the area to heal the sprain.

He seems to think all symptoms point towards a sprained tooth, only more time will tell. As long as the tooths nerve endings have not been damaged, and as long as there is no micro crack, then all will get better in due course.

So the answer to my own question is 'Yes' you can sprain/bruise a tooth. A tooth is anchored to the bone by a structure called the periodontal ligament, this ligament keeps the tooth in a stable position. This ligament also acts as a shock absorber to help protect the tooths nerve endings and blood vessels.

It seems trauma to a tooth can cause ligament pain that lingers and becomes chronic due to nerve endings that begin to fire spontaneously even when provoked by normal daily activities like speaking, swallowing and eating.

I'm hoping this is what is actually going on, I have lost so many rear molars in the past due to unnecessary extractions all because of TN, I want to keep the teeth I have left.

Please! please! please!

20

I would also like to add, due to having bilateral ATN (type two 24/7 on all three nerve branches), which I reckon was triggered by several dental procedures in the past, one in particular.

I have lost so many teeth due to the pain masquerading itself as dental pain, and not having dentists that know about TN, my teeth that are left are doomed due to doing all the work my molars were once doing.

I wish I knew then, what I know now.

Time to get dentures me thinks.