I don’t fucking understand this

[SoreToof]

I’ve posted before and still am not any further forward. I’m at my wits end and just don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve never been so miserable in all my life

i had an infection in my upper tooth root (the tooth was already filled) around a year ago and needed a root canal. I was in horrific pain- all across my cheek, my ear and my jaw and I couldn’t bite down on my tooth because it was excruciating. It wasn’t TN and I could pick out which exact tooth it was that hurt. There were nights I was up screaming and hitting my face off the wall it was so painful.

I had several antibiotic courses in the meantime but unfortunately nothing cleared it until I got the root canal. It was fine for a while after this and then the pain started again. Exact same tooth. I had several x rays and there’s no infection left, but I got another prescription at of antibiotics just to make sure it’s completely clear. It was fine for a week after I finished the dose and now it’s started hurting again- the exact same tooth. I can’t bite down on it at all without being in agony.

I don’t understand what’s going on with my mouth. My dentist is fantastic and I trust him and he was a bit unsure what’s causing it as tere’s no infection left behind, it’s been x rayed and the root canal was successful. I’m actually a bit frightened now, why is it still sore? Is it a problem with my face? What could it be if not an infected tooth?

I absolutely can’t get the tooth removed- because of the shape of my face and mouth it would be noticeable and obvious and I can’t afford to get it replaced with a bridge, implant or anything else. I can’t have a big gap in my face

i just want this all to stop. I’ve been in agony for almost a year and can’t keep taking cocodamol like sweeties.

Could it be a nerve palsy or neuralgia? I’m sorry OP, that sounds very scary and unsettling. I hope you find an answer and resolution soon.

Please be careful with cocodamol addiction, it’s a slipper slope. I hope you find relief soon!

Could it be TMJ

how awful i had similar issues with wisdom teeth was in agony nerve pain constantly

Sorry OP, but if your dentist doesn't know what's causing the pain, how can you expect a bunch of randoms on MN to be able to tell you. I don't mean to sound horrible, just being realistic. Would it maybe worth speaking to your GP, in case it's being caused by something other than the tooth? That's the only thing I can think of suggesting. Hope you get it sorted soon.

I had this. They kept xraying and saying there was nothing wrong with the tooth.

Turns out the roots of my teeth pretty much tough my sinuses so every time I had a head cold (far too often) I'd get toothache.

I finally got the emergency dentist it pull it out when I was in agony. Not ideal but honestly no choice for me.

If you're the same I can't imagine there's any other cure. Maybe having your sinuses cleaned?

Is it a front tooth?

Honesty, get a price for a bridge and get it pulled. Life is too short for this level of pain. And definitely too short for long term codeine addiction

Thanks no you don’t sound horrible, I don’t expect anyone here to diagnose me I was just posting in case anyone has had similar and has any advice x

Also I find that orajel stuff very good, since I still get pain in other teeth whenever I get a cold.

Just thinking out loud, could you get dental insurance, perhaps via work?

It sounds horrific but this will pass hopefully.

I recently had mine removed - it couldn't be root canaled as it had broken. Turns out when the dentist did the filling it should have been a root canal in the first place due to the size/placement, and when infected one of my roots had gone through into my sinus cavity. The pain was worse than childbirth.

I really can’t afford a bridge or implant unfortunately, no it’s not a front tooth it’s an upper side tooth but I have a horribly wide smile and it’s very obvious x

Because lots of people on here have had lots of life experience which includes having various pains caused by various things and knowing various people who have had various pains caused by various things. From those experiences, we could see the similarities with what OP has said and come up with some suggestions that might lead OP to finding an answer and a resolution. That, let’s be honest, in 2022, is far more likely to be a good use of time than spending weeks trying to get a phone call with a GP to be shrugged off and told to come back when she’s dead.

If you can’t or don’t want to offer any guidance, help, suggestions or kindness then there’s no need to waste your time commenting.

Thanks for all the advice, I’ve tried clove oil and oragel but it didn’t take the pain away unfortunately 😢 right now it’s only really painful to bite down on so if I avoid eating on it it’s fine, but this is how it started in the beginning and it ended up with me up screaming during the night with the pain so I really don’t want it to get that bad again. I don’t have any dental insurance or dental plan unfortunately x

I think the most obvious answer is that there is, in fact, still infection somewhere, or a bit of nerve left in. They are quite wiggly sometimes, I remember my dentist saying there could be roots in places you wouldn't anticipate. You can't go on like this, I think you need to make a massive fuss and get referred on to someone more specialised... Are they called endodontists? Think so.

I’m just so confused about why I’m in this much pain but there’s no infection or crack or problem on the x ray or the tooth

the other thing that’s slightly worried me is that if there is an infection, will it eventually go into the rest of my body? I’ve had it over basically a year now and it’s never spread so I know that’s a good sign, but what if it eventually spreads and my face gets infected and rotten? I know it’s probably not a real thing that can happen and just something from a horror movie, but can dental infections do that eventually?

Op I had something similar but was a filling I had instead of root canal. The dentist did the filling but it continued to hurt, no infection etc. cutting a long story short I moved dentist, the new dentist simply re did the filling, removed the old and re filled it and it stopped. All I can assume was the original filling was touching a nerve or something. If there isn't infection left then it must be nerve pain. Is the dentist sure he got all the root during the root canal treatment. X

I had something similar with an upper tooth. Not front tooth but one next to it. Had a few root canals until it was decided I should have the tooth pulled. After getting tooth pulled I decided to get an implant. At the consultation a full head scan was done and they discovered I had a cyst near/in the jaw that had not been noticed before. This is what was causing my pain. So ultimately I had a tooth pulled for nothing. Had several x-rays done before but none high enough to find the true cause of my pain. Not saying this is the cause for you, but worth ruling it out!

this article looks like it could be helpful. Everything might look ok on an X ray but they aren't going to see everything, I'd guess.

I think if an infection spread, you would feel very bad very quickly. Bodies are good at signalling like that, as you're finding out :(

It could be that the root canal filling hasn’t been successful, rather than a separate cause. I’ve had two root canals and have eventually had both of the teeth taken out because I was in pain, even though everything looked fine on x-rays. Can you ask your dentist to redo the filling? Then if that doesn’t solve the problem I’m afraid you may have to face losing the tooth if you want to be pain free.

I had this 3 years ago. couldn't stand it in the end and got them to pull it out. instant relief. theres a gap (top middle molar) but I couldn't care less after a few weeks as it was bliss to be pain free. Sometimes theres just nothing they can do.

I had a terrible abscess where a wisdom tooth should be (the relief when that bad boy popped..) and the cause? Surprise! An unerupted wisdom tooth that somehow escaped years of X-rays!

I had three teeth removed because of this turns out one tooth further back had a cracked root and it was infected this eventually wiped out the roots of my teeth nearby due to covid they just threw antibiotics at me like sweets there was nothing to be done in the end just pull them mine is a front side tooth too I'm pretty sure I will lose more teeth soon I'm devastated

Have a shop around because there are cheaper implants. I got 2 done in Brighton for 2k and paid over 5 appointments. I got a credit card especially for detal work now. Not ideal but needs must!

Thanks anyway but I really can’t afford it especially right now, glad you managed to get yours done for a good price x