Hi Bryanna,
I wanted to provide you an update.
Thank-you for your response. I saw the other dentist/oral surgeon on Wednesday (2 days ago). He cleaned my sockets and said that the issue was TMJ muscles. He asked me to eat soft foods and keep putting heating pads, which I did for 2 whole days.
I was in so much pain today even after putting heating pads (which actually made my pain worse) that I called in the clinic AGAIN and asked to see my original oral surgeon (who did my extractions). I just saw him and his diagnosis was completely different.
He says it is not my TMJ muscles but the tooth adjacent to the wisdom tooth extraction site. When he pushed, I immediately felt the soreness. Moreover, this tooth also has quite a bit of filling. He has put me on anti-inflammatory for now and I see him next week. Worst comes to worst, he says I will have to do a root canal on this tooth (joy). I'm beginning to think that maybe my source of pain wasn't the wisdom teeth trying to squeeze in, but rather this dang tooth!!!!
My question is that, is it likely for the adjacent teeth to experience nerve pain and other sorts of pain after extractions? BTW, I still plan on sticking to a soft diet regardless of what the real issue is!! I still want to give my TMJ muscles time to heal.
Thanks for all your help!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryanna
fathm,
One day of less chewing is not enough time to relax the jaw muscles. It can take weeks for the muscles to recover from spasm.
If the pain in the socket in getting worse, then you could have a dry socket or have some food debris deep inside. I am confused as to when you had the sockets cleaned out by the dentist as you said it's been hurting for a few days and then said you just had them done. It is also in your best interest to be sure to see an oral surgeon not a general dentist and specifically express your concerns about food debris being impacted in the socket.
Generally when impacted food is removed from the surgical socket, there is relief from the intense pain so long as the site is not infected and the clot had formed properly. The site may be sore for a few days but should feel better, not worse.
It is advisable to eat a nutritious soft food diet for a few weeks post op until the mouth feels pain free and comfortable. Only you can gauge how your mouth feels. Soft foods are those that do not require a lot of chewing. There is no reason to be on a liquid diet only.
Bryanna
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