Does anyone fear having a dental injury even though they already have Trigeminal Neuralgia? I know many people got TN due to a root canal or other dental procedure but if you already have TN should you fear to have a root canal, cavity fill, wisdom tooth extraction, etc. Can the pain worsen if the dental procedure goes badly, will the nerves in the teeth weaken, or can if spread to the other side of your face? Thank you for replies, I’m a very paranoid person.
Hi Leslie, i have TN and i have to have a tooth out at the hospital because of it and am dreading it in case it triggers a really bad attack. I am torn cos i have really bad toothache an keep getting abscesses which keep triggering off the TN so reslly its got to come out but am also scared that by having it out its gonna make everything even worse!
I was releived to read your post that im not the only one that feels like this.x
I know how you feel on the right side I have the pain and on the left side I have a wisdom tooth coming in and It’a even more difficult to chew than usual since bith sides hurt. I’m terrified of having to get it pulled, because I don’t want them to injure the nerves.
Leslie, it can get worse. I find many dentist won’t take a patient if they know and many don’t know how to proceed. I would check with your doctor for a recommendation. I was diagnosed over three years ago after a dental nightmare. I still don’t consider myself at the place I need to be. It is one thing to suffer the pain and trauma, physical, mental and financial distress, but it can never stop. I thought if I could just plateau I would be okay. Dental insurance is almost useless and dental costs are insane. I lost one tooth in the process which has affected my bite. After 3 years I just had a six hour multi visit teeth cleaning. They numbed me up when the got to my bad spot. By the time I made it home the cleaning triggered everything I fear. A migraine so bad I had Botox therapy, pain, burning, misery and virus. I was in bed for ten days. I am now told I have fractured five teeth since my injury and crowns, root canals etc. are not an option and could run up to $20,000. No matter what you do, every major and minor dental issue can cause horrific distress. Everyone’s case is different and we all have different doctors and options. I would like all my teeth removed but my doctors say no. I wish you luck. The pain may worsen but it will back off again.
Thank you for sharing your story and I wish you the best of luck.
Leslie,
I’ve had TN a long time…
Recently in August I had increased pain slowly over the course of a few days, this was not unusual for me, what WAS unusual was a 48 hour time frame of off the charts TN pain, straight, no break, no sleep , no relief, in tears, exhausted relentless pain. By the 44th hour or so in the middle of the night I knew something was wrong, I emailed my dentist/ oral pain specialist and told her I thought it was a tooth. By 7:30 am I was in her office and my face was slightly swollen…X-rays showed an infected dead tooth that needed a root canal. In the weeks leading up to this moment, I never felt the pain of the infected tooth to warn me of the problem because I suffer with varying levels of TN everyday in my teeth, ear, face etc.
As the day progressed and I waited for my 4:PM emergency root canal my face ballooned to triple the size…
I had a severe infection and was sent to hospital to begin IV antibiotics…(infection like that can be deadly with the risk of sepsis and the infection could spread to my brain.)
I had 9 days of IV antibiotics, and then another 5 days of oral antibiotics.
It was hell…
My point is this, if you need dental work, you need to see a dentist you trust who understands your fear and is knowledgable of TN. You can ask for a nerve block ( my dentist uses Bupovicaine ) prior to any dental procedure, routine or otherwise. This is a needle inserted in your mouth that freezes your side of your face, mouth etc ( stronger than your average dental freezing)
It’s been my experience that dentists will be extra cautious with you when they know you have TN.
In my recent case, I had no knowledge of the tooth, until it was worst case scenario infection wise. But if you do need dental work, it’s imperative that you not avoid it due to the risk of infection etc.
The Trigeminal nerve runs directly underneath your teeth, that’s why removal of all teeth ( which I think most of us TNers have wished we could do at sone point) would solve nothing…the nerve would still be there, teeth or no teeth.
If I ever feel pain isolated to a tooth I always go in to dentist and usually it’s not a tooth problem just my TN pain. Better to be safe than have to go through what I recently went through…
I had no problem with my root canal , I’ve had two over the years since my TN …I will say that my dentist doesn’t perform my root canals but an endodontist that my dentist refers me too.
Fear of the dentist is very real, and it’s important you share that fear and your concerns with your dentist. You need to feel reassured and confident before any procedure.
I’m always afraid to go to the dentist.
I hope you can find someone you trust that is willing to treat you kindly and gently so you can get what you need done.
(( hugs )) Mimi
Wow Mimi, that’a awful I hope you have improved and thank you so much for the reassurance.
I ageee with Leslie thanks for the reassurance Mimi and for sharing your experience although what an awful one to go through.
I has made me feel better about things. I have a very understanding dentist here in the uk, sounded like u are USA? He has recommended i go to our hospital and have my back tooth out there either under sedation or be knocked out fully! Im waiting for an appointment. I know it has to come out before it gets any worse as ive already had two lots of antibiotics i am just apprehensive about it. X
Hi Star, I’m in Canada actually.
Yes, Leslie I’ve improved thank you.
I highly recommend some kind of nerve block or sedation for any dental procedures and be sure to explain to your dentists that unnecessary roughness is highly discouraged as it can aggravate your pain as you recover from the procedure.
(( hugs )) Mimi
Mimi, I agree with everyone that you must find a dentist who understands how fragile you are. The traumatic stress, in many cases PTSD, that we carry with us annoy many dentist. In many cases a dentist caused the problem and we are reluctant to see another. I too am in so much constant pain I wouldn’t know if a bad tooth was causing it or not. My bite has changed dramatically since my initial injury. This has caused all four of my back molars to fracture. I cannot have four root canals and crowns and I am debating just pulling them out. I fing dentists to be too impatient and expensive adding to the daily suffering. I wish you luck and hope you find a great dentist.
Hello Leslie, the answer is YES, you can have both T1(classic TN) and T2(atypical caused by the dental procedure) at the same time.
cheers,
Nikos