wrenched my teeth!

[vintageteacups]

Hi - strange question about my teeth.

Last night, as I was putting on my coat, I put my volvo car key (that's relevant as it's not your average size car key)between my four front teeth. As I stretched my arm through the sleeve, I knocked the key; wrenching my teeth in the process.

They haven't moved as far as I know but they feel really sensitive and when I eat hot/cold foods/breathe in with my mouth open, it's a really horrible sensation.

Do you think I have just bruised the nerves (can you do that?) or could I have damaged them?

I thought it would have been back to normal today but it's not.

Biting into food also feels strange.

Any ideas - should I try and get an app at the dentist or wait and see if it stops by Monday?

OMG - just read this - I'm petrified of the dentist and have never even had a filling - surely I won't need root canal treatment???

this

Seriously? I wouldn't worry about it too much, you may have bruised the ligament that holds your teeth in place (periodontal ligament). f the sensitivity persists and become just sensitive to hot, not cold or you notice the tooth begin to grey they you ay have a problem. Next check up (provided you haven't experienced these symptoms) mention it to your dentist.

Remember, with medical maters, google isn't always your friend!

thatnks - so are you a dentist

Yep, on an internet crusade to stop people googling their dental problems!! No really, I run an out of hours emergency session on weekends and I would like one day to be able to read the book I take with me instead of being fully booked after 15min of opening!

But I am a dentist, but then you shouldn't believe what people say on the internet! Ask me anything!

as I have such a phobia of the dentist (mainly due to never having any treatment), is it possible to be completely knocked out with a GA for something like a filling?

I know this sounds completeley pathetic but trust me - my phobia is bad.

theres a ligament there? is that why when sometimes people injure their teeth so they are a bit wobbly they can firm up again?

yep - according to dentistnottheretobejudged.

I didn't know that either.

All I know is they feel really weird and not like they did before.

Have just eaten (stupidly) a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer - not a good idea. Really hurt!

Ohyoubad cat person, yes exactly why this is the case. Your teeth move by up to a mm while you are sleeping due to the relaxation of the ligament, that's why sometimes your teeth feel like they don't fit togethr when you wake up. It's also the principle behind braces.

Teacups, it is almost certainly not possible in the UK to be knocked out for anything excep extractions unless you have severe learning disability.

I can absolutely promise you that if you needed treatment, it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as you imagine it. Phrases I hear regularly are:
"Oh, don't you use a needle anymore?" When I have just injected someone with a needle but using a painless technique.
"I don't know why I have left it so long" When someone who has been in pain for months gets treatment which actually isn't that bad
finally
"Oh is it out?" when I remove a troublesome tooth simply an easily.

I feel as though my face has gone frey just reading those examples .

Okey dokey - thank you - I do feel slightly better knowing that the ligament thing sounds quite possiblly what's happened.

I will keep an eye out for greyness.

I will also be doing some research on hypnosis if I ever do any work.

Is it rare do you think, to find a 33 yr old without any fillings or tooth extractions? My mum gave me flouride drops (the done thing in the late 70s she said) and I have never eaten loads of sweets and we weren't allowed fizzy drinks very often. I am very proud of my teeth

Thanks for your advice though dentist - very useful.

MMMmmm, well Im 29 with no work and out of 100 patients over 30 I poss see 3 with no work so well blimmin done to you. Fluoride is the charmer I think but every case is different and I don't want to step in to a Fluoridation debate.

Please pm me if you have any concerns.

Don't worry - I won't make you my personal dentist and keep asking you questions!!! .

Hmm - until I chatted to a hygienist about fluoride, I didn't realise you could have too much and turn your teeth black!

So one last question if that's okay.....how long do you think it could take for my teeth to stop hurting/being sensitive after being wrenched?

I will NEVER be putting the car key between my teeth again!

thats so cool - I've learned somewthing new. Thank you :)

Vintage, you can only have too much Fluoride when your teeth are developing (up to about 3 for your front teeth, getting gradually later as you go further back) so unles you ARE a particularly literate toddler with a Volvo, you don't need to worry.

The problem with the area is that the blood flow is quite poor so it takes a while for things to settle, I would expect the symptoms to be significantly better within 10 days with odd twinges for up to 18months.

Aha - phew. okay, thanks for the info - you a very kind dentist who has somewhat allayed (sp) my fear.

Another thought, does this mean that people with hypermobility have teeth that are a bit more flexible? (very reassuring as to why my teeth dont feel quite right in the mornings sometimes!)

Never really thought about hypermobility but I suppose it would make sense. Any issues with collagen affect the periodontal ligament so people who got scurvy had loose teeth.

You can be put under GA if you have severe physical disability - not just LDs.

Snowmash, not something I have ever come across. Can you tell me what PCT considers this?

Dentistnotheretobejudged as far as I know, all of them.

Perhaps you're confusing learning disabilities with PMLD (profound and multiple learning disabilities, which tends to be used to describe those with LDs and PDs).

It is possible for someone with severe physical disabilities to be unable to open their mouth/keep it open for treatment, and I am always told that a GA is safer than deep sedation. An example of a CDS that includes severe physical disability as a reference criteria is here , but I'm yet to run across one that doesn't.

I have, however, come across dentists (GDPs) who are unaware of their CDS/salaried service, and how to refer.

Sedation is far safer than general anaesthetic and I would challenge anyone to point me to literature that suggested otherwise. I don't think I am confusing anything but would be interested in why you think this is a concern in the UK. Sedation using relative analgesia is unsafe for those who can't keep their mouth open as bite props can't be used, IV sedation however is fine.

Can you give me an example of where you have come across this so I can check it out? As an employee of the CDS I am surprised that this is an issue anywhere in the UK. Where have you come across GDPs who aren't aware of the CDS? We are fighting off referrals from GDPs as we don't have the resources. As students, we all do placements within the CDS so I would struggle to understand anyone who claimed to be unaware of the system.

Please can you update me with this info as I would definitely be keen to challenge any PCT/LHB that was failing to meet their mandated level of care.

PS Just because someone is eligible for treatment by the CDS doesn't mean they are treated under GA or sedation. Your link simply suggests that people with physical disabilities qualify for treatment under CDS conditions which is true, whether someone who has a repaired tetralogy of fallot and kidney disease would be accepted for GA is another matter altogether and one I feel you may not be qualified to comment on.

Treatment where a patient breathes for themself is by a thousand miles preferable to one where they have a significant chance of death.

I'm not sure you read my first comment correctly.

I said that you can be put under GA for treatment other than extractions with medical conditions other than LDs, after you had said that: "it is almost certainly not possible in the UK to be knocked out for anything excep extractions unless you have severe learning disability." Your comment seemed incorrect.

With regard to deep sedation vs. GA, I used the pronoun 'I', indicating that I was referring to myself. The GDC recommendations seem to group deep sedation with GA, conscious sedation being different altogether. With certain medical conditions, a GA is far safer than sedation (as is treatment in hospital as opposed to within outreach PCT facilities, but that would appear common-sense).

Finally, as I am sure you are aware, CDS dentists handle a wide variety of patients - CDS/PCT salaried dentists do not necessarily have any more knowledge of specific 'special needs' dentistry than GDPs. I have often had to travel a distance to attend CDS who have had specialism in physical disability as opposed to dental phobia in children or (for example) transient populations. Likewise I have known people who have had to travel distances with their children to attend appropriate clinics.

Oh, and I would suggest that personal attacks are unwarranted, and you have no way of knowing my occupation...the professionalism of your posts is interesting for someone who appears to be classing me in the uneducated patient role.

Sure, I will accept your superior knowledge of the CDS and let the CDS clinic know of our limitations when I get there in the morning. We wouldn't want to put people at risk now would we. I may just sign off here as this is the sort of issue that puts me off other forums. Laymen knowing far, far more than me about my specialty. OP, hope I have helped! Catchya.