Upper Tooth , Jaw & Ear Pain Bringing Me Down.

[willows]

I've had a good look about and done a search but as yet have come up with nothing related to my problem.

Its now almost 1 o'clock in the UK and I've been in constant upper back right side jaw pain for over 5 months now ............I've had the dentist check this out 3 times, x-rays done and at first he said it was my gums moving back off my 3 back upper teeth exposing some tiny-weeny holes and that its this this is causeing all the pain ...........er , he was wrong !

He's filled this tiny weeny hole with some sort of filler that needed a special light to seal the stuff with , then set about putting this banana flavoured fluoride over the top for protection ......which sent me into fits of screams having me riding about in utter agony in the dentists chair, I dont know who was more shocked ...........him or me ! But after some seconds he was able to remove what he'd put on and calm me down , but the pain carried on at level 8 from this day onwards.

Poor dentist has now asked the hospital to see me as he cannot find a thing wrong with my teeth , he now feels that his first diagnosis of my gums moving upwards was not quiet right , he's looked at all my teeth and has pointed out that none of my gums are receding , I clean my teeth extremely well , have no build up of anything on them and an not in need of any fillings , and for my old age well thats brilliant !

What I'm now concerned about is that I still cannot eat properly, hot, cold, you name it it causes me more pain .I cannot eat on this side and last week the left side of my tongue was quite sore .

I'm not talking as much . which keeps making my son and husband think they have done something wrong all the time .............men honestly ! and tonight I've spent around 6 hours with my face and ear on a warm hot water bottle and downed 40 mg of Oxycodone a couple of hours early because I just could take the pain anymore ............and its not touched it !

Around 10 years ago I had the top and bottom wisdom's taken out on this side , but instead of healing the holes got bigger and bigger and my upper jaw bone fell through .I had to have daily injections into the upper jaw and then after 6 weeks of utter pain and my weight plummeting they opened up my back jaw and cut away the jaw which was comming through and sew the whole thing up again ..................and yes it did hurt as I was awake all the time .

This pain I'm now feeling is identical to the pain I had when my jaw was coming through my face , its also gone up into my cheek , my ear and the side of my face and its just so awful . Pain killers dont work and I mean even the big guns one I sometimes have to use for other pains I get , hot water bottles do help a small amount , but I cant walk around with one stuck to the side of my face 24/7 can I ................

Has anyone any ideas while I once again wait to be seen by the hospital ??????

Having constant toothache in my 3 back teeth, my face and now my ear and trying to cope with all the other bits on my that are playing silly is really getting me down and at the minute I'm thinking of taking myself off to see my local doctor tomorrow morning first thing and demanding help ,after almost 6 months of tooth and face pain its just all getting me down .

Willows.

[Csmith3]

Sorry to hear you are in so much pain - it sounds awful. Could you get a referral to an NHS dental hospital (or attend the A&E dept if there is one)? I turned up to a walk-in clinic at a big city dental hospital a few years ago. A doctor recommended it; I didn't realise they existed. I had to go very early as there are only a few slots allocated per day on a first come first served basis and was seen by a consultant, got the x-rays and treatment all in one day. It was something outside the scope of expertise that my dentist has so I was delighted to get it sorted quickly because I was in agony. And it was free!

The walk-in clinic I went to is meant for genuine emergencies and people who aren't registered with a dentist. However, if your usual dentist can't fix the problem, it doesn't seem unreasonable to get another opinion.

I also think it is sensible to see your GP as the pain is over such a big area that it can be difficult to pinpoint the source and maybe it isn't in the dentist's remit.

Good luck!

[delphicdragon]

Wondering if it could be trigeminal neuralgia or another nerve being pinched in the side of your face.

Also wondering if it could be a stone in your salivary gland. Had one about a year ago and it was the most awful pain. I just wanted to curl up with a pillow attached to my face. Mine broke up on it's own, but sometimes they require ultrasound to break them up. Just my 2 cents.

Hope the pain eases soon, it doesn't sound pleasant.

Sara

[Bella127]

Have you thought of the possibility that you might have TMJ? It's pain of the temporomandibular joint, which is the joint connecting the upper and lower jaw.

"Temporomandibular Pain Dysfunction Syndrome or TMJ symptoms are quite common. They include local joint pain, ear ache, headache, noises and pain when you chew, and various associated muscle pains. The ability to open the mouth wide may be limited. Ordinary chewing of food may be difficult."

I had this for MONTHS last year, and it caused VERY extreme pain - my teeth would hurt in the back, I had throbbing on the sides of my jaw (started on one side then happened to both sides) and had very bad pain in my ear also, and the side of my face. It was so bad at times that I would cry at night because nothing helped. I also couldn't talk much either, and eating anything that required opening my mouth even a bit wide, or chewing a lot, was out of the question.

The thing that FINALLY gave me some relief was a mouth guard/mouth piece. It basically gives your jaw something to clench on, and gives it some "space" between the joint (so you are not pushing on the inflammation/nerves that are aggravated) if that makes sense. There's usually a lot of inflammation in the joint, which hits the nerves and causes the pain. Aside from using the mouthpiece, I was prescribed a muscle relaxer (Valium) which did help. Other than that, before I had the mouthpiece and the Valium, Aleve helped more than anything. But the big thing was the mouthpiece. I would sleep with it in, and it was almost immediate relief. I know they sell these cheap at drugstores, but I don't know if that will give you the same relief because those types are usually pretty thin and won't give you much material in between your upper and lower jaw. Hope I explained that okay. Although it is worth a try, so if you can find one that is thicker, like the kind used for sports, etc. maybe that will help you.

Does chewing hurt? (Chewing gum = the worst thing you can do) Has the dentist suggested the possibility of TMJ at all? If not, I would definitely make an appointment with someone else, seeing as he really doesn't seem to know what's going on, and you need some relief!

Look up some things on TMJ and see if that fits with what is going on. It seems to, given the jaw pain, ear pain, and the pain now radiating up to the side of your face - same thing that happened to me.

Let me know what you think and what you find out!

Hope you get some help soon.

Chrissy

[Maxine]

Willows,

It looks like you have some great advice already , and I'm wondering since you did get some work done on your jaw if it might be TMJ like Chrissy suggested, and possibly a pinched nerve as well.

How terrible to be in this kind of pain, and not know where it's coming from. I hope you find out what's causing it soon.

HUGS,

Maxine :0)