Hello, I am a dentist that has TN from the aftermath of removal of a tumor. It is essential that your mouth be in tip top shape ALL the time. Your gums and teeth can trigger TN. You may think its the “other side” but the jaws work together, due to your bite anywhere affecting both sides. Its essential that you fix everything, and I mean everything, and wear a night guard that protects your teeth also.
I have had my teeth crowned in the area that is affected by TN, and if my temporary is the slightest bit off it will trigger pain. So… don’t be shy with the dentist. Its easy for us to make the bite lighter, and to spend a little more time with your temporaries to make them perfect.
I recommend to anyone dealing with facial pain to have their entire mouth restored properly, and to learn how to take care of this investment. Also, go to specialists for any root canal, or extraction, I would. The faster a doctor gets in and out of your mouth, the less pain you will have afterwards.
Hi Atypical dentist. Thanks for stopping by. It’s great having a dentist on this forum to weigh in here. I see now that taking care of my teeth is very important when dealing with facial pain.
After my two crowns are done, I need to get a root canaled molar pulled because it is infected (second molar bottom right). The dentist saw on the x-ray I have a lot of bone loss there. He recommended extraction along with a bone graft. I know you should get a bone graft with an implant, which I do not want. It’s either a bridge or a denture for one tooth for me. Should I get a bone graft with a bridge or denture? It will be just one missing tooth. Should I leave it empty? Thank you. jazmin.
Both root canals are done including post and temporary crowns. This included the trigger tooth on my upper right side. I definitely have less pain there. This week I am making an appointment with a periodontist to discuss my lower right root canalled molar that is infected and must be extracted. I’m hoping to get that done this week. He’ll discuss with me a replacement. Since it’s just one tooth and in the back I’ll not get a bridge but a one tooth denture. There will be no implant because I won’t take the risk. The mouth is also too sensitive.
After getting my temporary crown on the trigger tooth my dentist was flossing my teeth nearby. I couldn’t believe it but my crowned RC tooth next to it had a mishap. The crown flew off and my dentist caught it lol. Well it wasn’t really funny at the time as I was a bit in shock after all the work I was going through. He told me that this tooth he wanted to discuss with me after I got all the other work done. The dentist said it was a poor fit and it needed a new crown. He showed me the x-ray and it had a splinter that the old dentist did not file off when he shaped it. The dentist cleaned it out and the tooth area and said that there was decay there. He said that the post that the dentist used was the cheapest type so he’ll put in a better post. I trust him and okayed it, so that’s being ordered. He did this on his lunch hour and did not charge me extra. This was the tooth done by the old dentist next to the trigger tooth that he also did. He said he did not want to talk badly about another dentist but I could tell what he thought of the work done.
I’ve gotten the two root canalled teeth crowned. I am waiting for the third crown to replace a bad fitting crown. Friday I will be getting my infected molar extracted and getting a bone graft. I won’t get an implant, but my dentist said I should get a bone graft since I already have so much bone loss because of the infection. My dentist wants more bone there so “he has more to work with”. He’s going to give me a couple options. I think I’ll probably do a small bridge, so I could eat on that side. The first molar is a big molar and it’s needed for chewing.
I’ll be getting only novocaine because I find it works better than carbocaine as it lasts longer and it numbs you better. I hope this molar comes out more easily than the wisdom tooth on that side. The oral doc pulled and pulled that one and could not get it out so I went for sedation. Who knows what he did to get it out, but wow did it hurt for a month. I’d like to be awake so I know what the doc is doing.
After all of my dental work is completed I am going to get a mole removed on my face that I didn’t do previously because I was afraid of neuralgia since I probably need a shot for that.
jazmin.
I did not get the infected root canaled tooth extracted yet. It was just a consult with the perio to see what’s up with the tooth. He told me that I can try to save the tooth with a bone graft. The other choice would be to extract it and I would get a bridge. The perio said that infection could be from a crack but it can’t be seen on xray, then saving the tooth would not work. If it is just from poor hygiene then the tooth can possibly be saved. I have a 10mm pocket on that tooth. He tested all of my teeth and they came back 2’s and 3’s and one 4 besides the 10 mm pocket. The perio says it’s 50/50 with the tooth. I asked him what he would do, and he said to extract. I agreed and made an appointment for April 8. I’m having second thoughts though. I purchased a waterpic and will try to clean up the pocket and hopefully it will close it up some. The tooth does not hurt, but the gum feels sore. I remember that I could not floss in the spot as the floss kept getting stuck. The dentist told me that the old dentist when filling the tooth dripped filling down the side and did not remove it, so it there like a splinter. We’ll see. I got two weeks to think about it.
jazmin
That’s a tough one. The tooth that “started” all my ATN issues was a broken one under a crown that got infected. The endodontist tried to do a root canal, but discovered it was broken and I had it removed and replaced with a bridge.
On the one hand if there is any chance that it is broken, it’s best to get it out, but a bridge involves a lot of crown work. What are the teeth like to either side of this tooth? Are either of them crowns? Do they have fillings and are the fillings large? What does the endodontist say about the tooth?
The tooth in front of it is a premolar and has had no work done on it. The tooth behind is is the last molar. It has many fillings done on it. I’ll need crowns on both to do the bridge.
The endo did not check this tooth as he had two other teeth that needed r/cs at the time. My dentist is 99% sure it should go. It’s my big molar and I really don’t want to give it up lol.
jazmiin
What the heck does a bone graf involve? I know nothing about it and am wondering how invasive it could be (aka: are you going to start aggravating your TN?). And, how long is a bone graf good for overall? That may be something to seriously consider as well. A bridge is basically forever once you get all the bits and pieces in place.
What a mess. I’m so sorry to hear about this. I have very vague memories of my dad using some sort of antibotic dental-designed paste in a pocket around a tooth, I have no idea what the name of the medication was but I know it’s dental-specific, maybe ask your dentist about that?
Since I have bone loss under the molar a bone graft is placed after an extraction to get the bone (jaw) to grow and will fill in the space. The infection on the molar caused the bone loss. The bone will grow and help the gum and pocket to lift/close the pocket up and even out the ridge to get a good bridge done. This will also be done if I decide to try to keep the tooth.
The perio doesn’t take anything from the body for the graft, he uses some other bio-materials. An extraction of a bottom molar is going to hurt a lot, so adding the graft should not give extra pain. If I just get the graft with no extraction, there will be pain from the graft. Grafts are pretty common these days. My husband recently had one from the same perio-extraction/graft/implant and he had very little pain. A graft will last a long time as long as there is something placed above it, bridge, implant, etc.
I’m not sure what will be done to save the tooth besides a graft. I expect root planing at the very least.
jazmin.
Tomorrow I go for the extraction. I’m a bit nervous about it. It’s the big third molar on the bottom with a root canal. I have the best perio according to my new dentist. He gave me choices of perios with numbers for each: 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., 1 being the best. I had an extraction on the wisdom tooth in that quadrant years ago. I was in a lot of pain from that one for at least a month. Not neuralgia pain, normal pain but intense. The oral surgeon tried pulling it out but could not, so I opted for sedation. Who knows what he did to get it out. I’m glad I have the top perio working on me. I’ll tell him to be gentle as possible and remind him of my ATN. It’s on the same same but the lower quadrant.
The infected molar was pulled finally. It’s a good thing that I went ahead with it. The perio thought there was a small chance to save it, so I was thinking about it. When the tooth came out the perio found a cracked root and nothing could be done about it. The infection caused bone loss so I received a bone graft.
I was nervous going in and sitting in the chair waiting for the perio to start. It was one of those modern open type rooms. The room next to me two people were having very loud conversations. Between and anxiousness and the loud chatter I was getting bugged. I mentioned to the nurse that I was used to the old dental offices where the door was closed and it was very quiet. I said it nicely. It may have been a coincidence but when the perio and nurse came in the people next door spoke very quietly. I thought it was funny that the nurse asked if I was agitated. I told her I was just nervous because of past experience.
The perio told me he was going to make sure I felt no pain, and he was right. He gave me four shots of novacaine. The first one went deep into my jaw and he had to slowly inject it and keep it in for a minute. My sensitive gag reflex started and I had to calm my breathing to get through without choking. The other shots were easy. No pain at all. The procedure went fine with no pain. At the end I could feel the suture thread in my mouth as he gave me some stitches. I go back next week to get them out.
I feel sore and my jaw is a bit swollen. The perio gave me pain pills and recommended I take them to get ahead of any pain. I took one and it felt like it did not do anything. I have been taking edulac (spelling) that is an inflammatory like motrin. That helps with any pain or soreness. I’m just taking it easy. I believe I will be much better in a week. I plan to get a bridge down the road since it’s an important molar and it’s a big space.
I also need a new post/crown to replace old crown on root canal in problem area. New dentist said old dentist did not fit it right and stuff is getting under it. New dentist also said I need to replace some old fillings. I’m getting there. jazmin.
Good thing you got that out! That can only help things. I also had a cracked root on a tooth that had to be removed (replaced by bridge). Let us know how things settle out and take it easy for a day or two.
Well it’s been a while. I had the extraction and bone graft and that went very well. No additional pain thankfully. I’m still waiting to get the bridge done. I had a trip booked and a month before I started getting pain on an upper left tooth (12). I went to the dentist and it had a big old cavity. Dentist advised me that the cavity was extremely close to the nerve and I should get a root canal. I had one and have a temporary put on by my dentist today.
When the endo was taking xrays before doing the root canal he picked up something on the tooth behind the one I was getting RC’d. He did a cone xray and found that the tooth which was previously RC’d by another endo was not done well. He asked who did this RC? The endo explained that the other guy did not clean it out properly and left a curved root in there, and now there’s a small infection.
Well that was something I did not want to hear before I was getting an RC. The endo gave me a few choices with the other tooth. I could retreat it, and he says 60/40 chance, apico, or pull it. Since I will not get an implant if he pulls it I need another bridge. Apico I will not do, but I was leaning towards retreatment. This endo is excellent, and I trust him. It is not on my bad side, but am I looking for trouble with retreat and should I just pull it. The ATN pain that I have on my upper right has been calm and well controlled. I was thinking if it was still behaving once the cool weather comes, I might try lowering the gaba.
Anyone have a retreat on a root canal? All replies are welcomed. jazmin.