Hi akmoose,

Very sorry to hear that you dad is having so much pain. Dental pain or mouth pain can sometimes be very hard to diagnose.

A couple of things come to my mind that would cause chronic dental pain and perhaps they have already been ruled out by his dentist, but I'll post them anyway just in case ....

1) Capped/crowned teeth can have decay underneath the cap/crown which does not always show up on an xray. If the caps are porcelain fused to metal, then the metal substructure prevents the beam of radiation from penetrating it which prevents any visual picture of what is underneath the cap/crown.

2) A capped tooth can have a fractured root which is not always visible on an xray.

3) A root canaled tooth that has been restored with a post and crown could be a source of inflammation due to many factors. First it is common for a root canaled tooth to fracture because there is no longer any blood supplying that tooth with nutrition. This lack of blood to the tooth causes the tooth to become brittle making the tooth more susceptible to injury. A post in a tooth acts like a wedge inside the tooth which increases the risk of fracturing.

4) There could be trauma, nerve related, to that side of his jaw from dental injections or other dental work that he's had done there.

5) Periodontal disease can also cause chronic tooth or jaw pain.

6) There is also a condition called "referred pain" which simply means that the area that hurts may not be the actual location of the problem.

7) Problems with the ear, sinuses, back, neck, arm or shoulder can also cause tooth or jaw pain.

Do any of these things sound like they could fit your dad's situation?

Bryanna



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