I posted awhile ago about how my teeth are shifting. I went to the orthodontist this morning and he had a very interesting correlation to make.
I put forth my personal, non-medically based theory that TN was causing my teeth to shift. HE AGREED in an unoffical, non-clinically tested way. He has stroke patients and a few others with facial parayalsis from trauma (sadly no one else with TN/ATN) and stated that something you never hear about from stroke survivors is that if they have facial drop and whatnot they also start having shifting teeth. When you facial nerves are damaged the ligments and muscles in your face no longer work correctly, this could even been on a micro-level, and when those things don’t work correctly your start having bite problems and bite problems may eventually cause your teeth to shift.
Eventually. Maybe. No actual research to support it. But, in my opinion, connecting the dots leads to a connection between TN and teeth issues. At least it seems to have in my case. I had perfectly fine teeth until about five years ago. Now I’m at the point of needing braces and permanent retainers to get my bite corrected. My teeth have had a huge shift in five years, I’ve had ATN for 12 years, and when it flares my teeth often have a loose sensation. Kinda makes me go “ummmmmmm…”
azurelle, I think u r right about atn causing changes in the mouth. I have had atn a very long time but in the last few years I have noticed a number of changes . My jaw joint is always sore as my lower jaw is always being pushed forward. I no longer have a mild over bite most of the time. My teeth are being ground down on my left side which is the same side my smile droops downward somewhat. I even had tests to see if I had had a stroke but there were no signs of a stroke on the various tests run by a cardiologist. My teeth are still strong and haven’t moved around so far. Just about anything seems possible with this very cruel condition. Good luck and keep me/Us updated.
It does make you go “ummmmm” hahaha I haven’t had teeth shifting yet, and there might be another tumor lurking in my face (had one surgically removed from behind my eye, which we think started my TN/ATN), but the teeth on my bad side have receding gums. I went to the orthodontist the other week because my most intense pain has been occuring at my jaw joint, right below the ear. I have huge flair ups there, so I went to see, and she didn’t find anything wrong with the jaw but found massive swelling inside my mouth! I hadn’t realized it, because it is on the TN side, and pain and lightening strikes come from all over the left side. But there it is, just a huge mass you can see with the naked eye. With MRI, CT, and X-ray though, it is unclear what is causing the swelling, though they know it isn’t puss because they extracted some liquid from it. It is starting to erode the bone that is the roof of my mouth!
So yeah, this TN just loves to wreck havoc on the whole face! I currently live in China though, and because none of the scans have been conclusive, I’m going to sit on it for the next few months until I come back home this summer.
willimus, first, it’s so very good to hear from you again! you always have excellent posts. Second – HOLY CRAP! Please make an appointment at home so you can exit the airplane and enter the doctor’s office for a better workup immediately.
And third, or last, be sure to keep us updated. Know I’ll be thinking about you.
Not sure if I have already chimed in on the topic. Who among us has the greatest memory anymore? Any hoo, my lower front teeth beginning on the TN side have shifted to the point that I need braces. This has slowly sneaked up on me. I have complained for years that my teeth feel like they are being pushed on. Really hard! I know I spoke to biting my check hard! Recently I discovered a strange spot in the inside if my TN cheek that looked like maybe I had bitten myself and it had scabbed over but was sunken in. The tissue around it was puffy and white looking. I went to the dr because over the last 3 weeks it has grown to 3 times the beginning size. He has me putting a steroid paste on it twice a day. Not better after day 5. I don’t know if it’s trauma from a bite or if the time released oxy I found melted on my cheek is the culprit(yes I did)! Tasted terrible too. Not the sore, the melted Oxy I didn’t realize was stuck to my cheek rather than sitting in its intended destination… my stomach of course! I’m getting a bit freaked out though! Could it be cancer has crossed my mind and I shout NO! My hubby had squamous in his tongue and it looked similar. So the mind wants to wonder. Dr says he thinks trauma but if not better by Wed this week he will refer me to an ENT. Anyone ever bitten and had a slow healing fast growing sore to occur? That sounds as odd as it looks and the fact is it hurts on a side with no feeling except for burning all the time! Thanks for letting me get all that out! I scare my husband so I don’t vent these concerns.