When TN gets in the way of correct dental treatment

General General TN & GPN (Old Site)
1

As a suffer of TN Type2 on all three branches and on both sides, I find getting the correct dental treatment is nearly impossible.

Dentists now treat me as a Neuralgia suffer, so when I go and visit my dentist with a tooth problem (they just say the pain is TN related and not a dental problem). so now I feel I am not getting the correct dental treatment all because I suffer from TN.

Last week I was eating a cheese-straw (pastry), I heard a tremendous loud crunch as I was eating and knew straightaway that I had just bitten down on something hard. I was expecting to see bits of broken tooth, but thankfully no. But I knew something was wrong as I was in pain within seconds, its a different pain (it wasn't TN pain). I thought I must of cracked the tooth, maybe a micro fracture as they call it, so straightaway I started to get very anxious having to think I will have to visit my dentist.

I waited 2 days to see my dentist hoping the pain would subside, my Dentist took an X-ray and found nothing wrong. She explained the tooth maybe bruised (ligament) or may have small fracture, only time will tell, wait 2-4 weeks to see if pain settles.

She continued to say how is your TN pain, maybe its your TN and not the tooth. I straightaway assured her that when I bit down on the cheese-straw I just knew something was wrong, it felt like I had broken the tooth.

I feel that some health professionals do not take TN patients seriously, they look at us like we are crazy, desperate and not telling the truth.

I feel I will not get the correct dental treatment, I feel that I will be in pain with this damaged tooth forever.

Why is this world so cruel ?

2

Oh, I hear you Dallas! My problem with the dentist was a little different in that when I asked him to be mindful of my rather painful TN while he was fixing a tooth on my good side he threw his head back and laughed. Laughed!!! And said "Who the Hell told you that you had THAT???"

3

Hi catwomen, thats awful, what did you say ?

What really upsets me is, they say Trigeminal Neuralgia can be caused by a dental procedure, I was always adamant that this was the cause or trigger of my ATN.

Or they say its hereditary, I have found out that my father also suffers ATN, also his father (my grandfather). My grandmother (nan) on my mothers side suffered cluster headaches, also my great auntie who is my mothers mother sister suffers cluster headaches, also my uncle has also started to suffer cluster headaches who is my mothers brother.

My father and my auntie both say their pain started after a dental procedure.

Is it dentistry to blame, or is this a trigger to start Trigeminal Neuralgia ?


catwoman said:

Oh, I hear you Dallas! My problem with the dentist was a little different in that when I asked him to be mindful of my rather painful TN while he was fixing a tooth on my good side he threw his head back and laughed. Laughed!!! And said "Who the Hell told you that you had THAT???"

4

When he asked the question with me on a very submissive position on my back, I replied " Um, my doctor?" ( hating myself for being submissive ) He then, still laughing , said something about it not being a neurologist and I just let him finish the procedure and scuttled out of there.

Two things; 1) Yes, it has been diagnosed by a neuro now and in fact I'm due at his office in 2 hours to get my MRI results and 2) I'd been to him to fix a broken tooth 2DAYS before my first incapacitating shock!!! Coincidence? Doubt it. Somewhere along the line I'd love to hear a dentist admit culpability.

5

You poor thing, hope you have changed your dentist.

Well! after a very painful night sleep with tooth pain from bitting down on a hard cheese-straw :( I phoned my dentist this morning and booked in as an emergency. I asked to see a different dentist, there is a new dentist just arrived who I have heard is very good.

Wow! she is excellent, not once did she treat me as a crazy neuralgia patient, she totally focused in on the suspected broken or fractured tooth. She found the tooth to have a suspected fractured and said it would need extracting, obviously I agreed and within less than a minute out it came, so thats another tooth that bites the dust.

That means I have lost this tooth through biting down on hard food, not TN pain. Usually its the TN pain that has made me undergo unnecessary tooth extractions.

BUT! its a vicious circle, the reason this tooth took the impact of the cheese straw, was due to the supporting tooth (rear molar) was not present due to extraction few years ago because of the TN pain. So its a knock-on effect from loosing other teeth unnecessarily making the arch of my teeth weaker.

It is so upsetting to think of all the unnecessary extractions I have undergone, this Trigeminal Neuralgia certainly has a lot to answer for. This TN has not won with taking my life (but it certainly has tried), so instead it gives me a living hell of pain and also wants to ruin my looks by making me lose my smile (teeth).

I hate this disease with a passion.

6

I'm really glad that your problem is sorted! In all seriousness, are you ever tempted to just have all your teeth removed? Has anyone done that? There would be no doubt then. Ever. It has crossed my mind on occasion that if finances allowed...........

7

Catwoman- my nuero has a 35yr old male patient with ATN that found a dentist that agreed to pull all his teeth because he felt it would stop the pain. He hadn’t been properly diagnosed at this point and felt it had to be his teeth causing his pain. He wears dentures and is on meds. He continued to have ATN attacks after having all his teeth pulled :frowning:

8

I didn't think it would stop his pain, ijust tjought that at least you wouldn't think " this pain has to be an abscessed tooth and I'm going to wake up in the morning with my face swollen " ( that was me last week!) Having said that, I don't think I'd be keen to yank all my teeth out either. : )

9

Thank goodness you had it pulled and you weren't told that you needed a rc.

10

Thank you for your comments.

Not so good at the moment, I'm in terrible pain from the extraction site, aswell as the TN pain on both sides top and bottom teeth.

The extraction was last Tuesday 27th and the pain was manageable for the first day, but now the pain is tremendous. I have pain top and bottom on extraction side (left side) accompanied by TN pain on the other-side (right side) that comes and goes, the pain is radiating through the whole of my head, it feels like my head is going to explode.

I'm so bloody upset/depressed right now, all because what I have been through again. I have lost yet another tooth all because I had bitten down on a cheese-straw, the not knowing if the tooth would have survived or not is by far the most upsetting thing. I wish I had given the tooth longer to see if it would settle, I only waited 2 weeks and the pain was just getting worst so this is why I opted for the extraction.

My dentist said she has seen this a million times where even a piece of bread had fractured a tooth, I think this is why she didn't have a problem with pulling the tooth straightaway. After the extraction she examined the tooth and said there is a very minor fracture, so she thinks we made the right decision. I have the tooth here with me, I have looked at it a million times and have board my wife silly talking about it..... the what if's

What if I had waited longer, would the tooth of healed ?

What if its the wrong tooth, what if its the bottom one ?

What if the impact started the TN, maybe the tooth was ok ?

What if I didn't eat the stupid cheese straw ?

What if I didn't suffer from TN, I wouldn't have lost so many supporting teeth ?

Its seems I suffer enormous anxiety which I do, the TN has made me like this. But I cant help feeling I have yet again done the wrong thing. I have analyzed the past 2 weeks events over and over in my head time and time again to see if things could have been different, to try and make me comes to terms with what has happened.

1. If I say the day of eating the cheese straw my TN pain was mild on my rightside.

2. The bitting down on the cheese straw was on my leftside.

3. Within 20mins after bitting down I had pain on leftside upper #5 pre-molar.

4. By next day pain got worst at upper #5 tooth.

5. By 3rd day I had ache along lower teeth.

6. Pain and ache would ease when I would eat something, if I applied pressure to #5 molar the ache.pain would ease.

7. From then on this would be the norm over the 2 weeks, pain turning into ache, ache turning into pain at upper and lower teeth on leftside (No TN pain on rightside).

8. The morning of the extraction before the dentist appointment, I had TN pain on rightside, no pain or ache on leftside at all.

9. Sitting in dentist waiting room I was feeling TN pain on rightside, the leftside suspected #5 tooth felt ok. I can only put this down to all the stress and anxiety which must have triggered the TN pain on my rightside which faded out the suspected leftside tooth problem.

10. The Dentist and I decided to extract the tooth due to suspected fracture and tooth feeling tender.

11. Day 1 after extraction felt fine.

12. Days after extraction, I am in more pain now than I ever was. Pain from extraction site upper #5 pre-molar and ache along lower teeth.

13. Mild TN pain on rightside that is drifting in and out.

14. What the blooming ek! have I done ?

Maybe a dry-socket even though I dont smoke and haven't used a straw, maybe its just the wound that needs to heal. The dentist had no trouble getting the tooth out, just a bit of pulling and it slid out. There was a loud cracking sound which I thought the tooth had broken, but it hadn't.

I just wish I had waited longer before having the tooth extracted, the tooth may have recovered and I wouldn't be in all this pain now.

Sorry for such a long negative and upsetting post, I'm sure you know where I am coming from.

Kindest Regards

Dallas

11

I sure can relate to all the "what ifs"...it also seems to up my anxiety and I feel my pain more intensely as well. Since being diagnosed I have had one extraction. It was an abcessed tooth and even after seeing my dentist and referral to an endo, I took several weeks before I was convinced that it really needed to come out. Unfortunately for us we cannot always trust our pain. Try to relax as you need to heal. I remember after my extraction the site was still bleeding at 2 am and I slept upright as I couldn't wait anymore for the bleeding to stop. Evidently my meds thin my blood?

It seems for us there are no absolutes. Fractures can hurt something awful. I had a r/c tooth before diagnosis that I waited to crown (ins. max for year) that fractured and it was a horrific pain. You just never know.

12

I was back at the dentist today, the pain from the extraction site and bottom row of teeth is unbearable (something must be wrong).

Dentist said the wound is infected and its not healing, plus the pain along bottom teeth is referred pain from above extraction site. She dressed and cleaned the wound which took the pain right away, which was bliss. She continued to say if wound does not heal in next 7 days, she would have to refer me to the hospital.

What the bloody hell is that all about ?

1. Why is the wound not healing ? I have done everything to keep the site clean, salt rinse, non smoker etc.

2. Are we sure the pain from bottom row of teeth is referred pain and not other problem such as another fractured tooth.

3. Has this extraction started more TN pain for me ?

I'm so blooming scared this pain I am in is going to stay forever, what if it has made my TN pain worst again, or what if it was the bottom tooth fractured and not the top as first thought ?

Sorry to rant on and on.

13

Please don't have all your teeth removed. My uncle had that done before his TN diagnosis and it brought no relief - just a lifetime of dealing with dentures. I had several teeth removed which resulted in a bridge that caused me to lose three other teeth, eventually. I have spent over a year and $15,000 replacing those teeth with implants.

KEEP YOUR TEETH! If your dentist wants to do extractions when nothing is apparent, find another dentist who understands TN. I have one now and he is wonderful.


brownkat

catwoman said:

I'm really glad that your problem is sorted! In all seriousness, are you ever tempted to just have all your teeth removed? Has anyone done that? There would be no doubt then. Ever. It has crossed my mind on occasion that if finances allowed...........