Hi All, I have a very sore tooth, the dentist has recomended a root canel. I am petrified it will make my tn worse!! Can someone please tell me if you have had dental work and if it made things worse or stayed the same…
Thanx,
Janelle 
The sore tooth should be confirmed by high resolution X-ray imaging to have an abscess, before you allow a dentist to do root canal. Many cases of TN begin with "a sore tooth" that later proves not to be a dental problem but rather one of nerve damage. Talk with your dentist also about "atypical odontalgia" and ask how he would discriminate between a dental abscess versus this neurological syndrome. If he doesn't know, then you need to visit with an oro-facial surgeon for consultation before having this kind of work done.
If you actually have a dental problem, then you can talk with your neurologist about "loading up" on any medication that has been effective in controlling ATN pain in the past.
Regards and best,
R.A. "Red" Lawhern, Ph.D.
Resident Research Analyst, LwTN
Hi Janelle! I recently had to have a root canal on an upper molar on the same side of the face as my Type II Trigeminal Neuralgia - I didn't have any problems with it at all, thankfully! Not all of us have access to an "oro-facial surgeon" for consultation as Red mentioned below, which can be frustrating! Those specialist can be very difficult to locate as I have yet to find one in my state! Try not to stress too much about your root canal - I didn't UNTIL I got on this website - LOL! ;D Let us know how things turn out for you! You will be in my thoughts & prayers! ♥
Hi Janelle,
I wholeheartedly agree with the above. Before I was correctly diagnosed, I had two root canal procedures on the same tooth.(no pain relief. It was then extracted.) TN was the issue not dental. I've had three extractions in the past because of misdiagnosis. Put your dentist up against the wall. look into those eyes and.. wait,.never mind, I'm a non-violent peacenik. Take the loving kindness approach. Hopefully that will work
Hi Janelle,
I'm sorry that you have to deal with this. I have been there myself, and it's not any fun. In my case, I had to have root canals done on teeth that had deep fractures. While getting the work done definitely aggravated my ATN for some time after the procedure, ultimately, having those teeth repaired lead to a huge improvement in my overall pain levels. I would concur with Red that it is vital to have radiographic evidence of an abscess before having dental work done. I have a number of teeth that bother me, but my dentist, endodontist and orofacial pain specialist won't work on a tooth unless it meets certain criteria. This works for me, since unnecessary dental work will only make things worse. That said, if a tooth does need work, it is important that it be stabilized, or that has the potential to cause problems as well. Could you get another opinion on the tooth? If you are able to see an ororfacial pain specialist, that would be best as they are very well versed in making the distinction between ATN and a tooth that is truly compromised. If that is not possible, an endodontist who has an understanding of TN might be a good choice.
I have found that I can keep a lid on my pain levels following the root canal if I take extra meds beforehand and for a few days afterwards (with my doctor's permission, of course). It also helps me to use nitrous oxide during the procedure. Frequent breaks so that you can close your mouth and relax for a minute help me too.
Please let us know how it goes. I'll be sending you good thoughts.
Take care,
Chris
Hi Janelle, I am so glad that my response was helpful. It’s so great that we can compare notes with others who are in the same boat; it’s one of my favorite things about this site. From what I have read here, orofacial pain specialists can be hard to find, so that is fantastic that you have access to one, even if he is a ways away. I think that giving him a call is a great idea. Your dentist might even be able to email your films to him if they are digital. Then he can actually see what is going on. Even just getting his perspective and advice on how to keep your pain levels from escalating would be invaluable.
I understand completely your concern about your pain becoming unbearable and I’m sure that everyone else here does too! It sounds like you are doing everything you can to ensure the best possible outcome. In my case, it was rough going for a bit (especially since I had horrendous flare ups after each root canal) but in the long run, it was worth it, because once things settled down, I felt so much better.
I will keep sending good thoughts your way in the hopes that you feel better ASAP.
Chris
I had a tooth that needed a root canal because of the severity of the cavity. I was already diagnosed with type 2 AN and it was excruciating! I have a problem getting numb and i have to say everytime i leave the dentist it gets worse....I still have caps to be put on and other root canals because my mouth failed...try to do as minimal work as possible! unfortunatly I cant avoid the dentist but if you can, dont go. ALso dont let them do root canals or pull teeth that have no problems because your in pain, i went through one of those and i am furious that my root canal specialist did that knowing i diddnt need a root canal. Hope this helps! Jen
I had what looked like a healthy tooth that was suspected to have a fracture (no one could tell for sure). I had my dentist go ahead and root canal and crown it because I couldn't even drink any liquids that weren't mouth temperature. Once he was in there he found decay so the treatment was a good choice. He really wasn't sure I should have the work done on that tooth but I was rather sure it needed it, I was right in that case.
It helped in that case, immensely. It was previously a tooth that had been filled at least twice and had a very large filling (too large) but still appeared ok. It was the furthest back tooth and those are hard to replace with implants (no space to work in really) so I wanted to save it and not deal with pain from it (option was pulling, wasn't willing to do that).
I had to have 1 extracted and 2 others root canalled and crowned prior to that due to serious infection (those teeth were getting bad, showed on x-ray, the 1 extracted was beyond help). You really have to feel sure you're taking the right action regarding your teeth when you have TN I found. It's very hard to tell what's causing what. I have TN 1 I guess but hope this helps. All my teeth with issues have been on the same side as my TN symptoms. The neuro I'm seeing said a virus can get in the nerve and there's no fix, nor can they test for that (I haven't read about that possibility anywhere so far).
I hope all goes well, or went well for you with your dental treatment :)
SufferingJen said:
I had a tooth that needed a root canal because of the severity of the cavity. I was already diagnosed with type 2 AN and it was excruciating! I have a problem getting numb and i have to say everytime i leave the dentist it gets worse....I still have caps to be put on and other root canals because my mouth failed...try to do as minimal work as possible! unfortunatly I cant avoid the dentist but if you can, dont go. ALso dont let them do root canals or pull teeth that have no problems because your in pain, i went through one of those and i am furious that my root canal specialist did that knowing i diddnt need a root canal. Hope this helps! Jen
Janelle;
I still wonder if my TN (if that's indeed what it is, considering I was told my scans show the vein and nerve to be well separated) was caused by my abscess not being treated sooner with root canals and or extractions. I had pain before any of my dental work was done but it got worse after my treatment ( in stages actually, more after the extraction then even more so after the 2 root canals).
I have some hope it may be the nerve was so irritated by the infection, and then work, that it's showing symptoms of TN without being true TN and that in time it might somehow resolve itself (one can hope) but only time will tell. It's part of why I think putting off dental work might be worse than getting things taken care of properly by trusted, ethical professionals. I hope your endo has the new 3D pano, no one I found had it (I don't know if that's what Red meant above or not). I've read here, and elsewhere, that helps them to see more clearly what's going on.
Frankly, when my meds wear off completely, I can't even take a step without causing pain attacks, so I know what you mean about the fear of causing anything to get worse. From what I experienced with my last tooth that had the root canal (the third and final for now), was that it was a lot worse while it was at all sensitive, the RCT really helped, at least as far as how it reacted to temperature, well, it improved it to where the meds could help, before, the meds didn't do much to prevent attacks while eating or drinking anything other than mouth temperature stuff (esp liquids).
I am really hoping the absolute best for you.
Panoramic Xray was indeed what I had in mind, RyGuy. However, I would suggest that a distinction between "true" TN and trigeminal neuropathic pain due to mechanical or infection damage to the nerve, is generally a hard one to make. Either way, you'll probably be dealing with the same medications.
Regards, Red
I had all four of my wisdom teeth out in April, before my ATN started. I was on STD for 6 weeks after the start of my pain. I had scheduled a cleaning with my dentist 6 months ago and forgotten about it. I was reminded the second Tuesday I was back to work. It was for the next day. I told him where one of my wisdom teeth had been hurting. I had told others, but they said it must just be my ATN pain. He took an X-ray and a portion of that wisdom tooth was still there and inflamed. It was probably irritating my ATN as well! I went to the surgeon who had initially taken them out, and he took it out that day for free (the following monday). My ATN did flame up once the swelling went down (Tuesday i was strangely fine). I was out for 2 days (Wed and Thurs) with ATN pain. After that I seem to be on (Today/Friday). It was just a small piece, and it came out easily. I am super thankful I already had my wisdom teeth out now.
Good luck everyone!!! If it has to happen, it might feel better after the pain from being irritated subsides. Honestly the pain after the dental cleaning was way worse but subsided much quicker. Just thought I would share my story! Good luck with everything!!
PS. If a surgeon has messed up, they should DEFINITELY do the repair for free. If you want a different doctor, the insurance should also help pay for a redo. Just tell the doctor to be meticulous in the notes so that it doesn't seem like you had the same surgery twice (extortion).