Thank you for the link, Bryanna . I'll visit it in a few mins.

Barb, I do take Activella; my PCP Rx'd to control hemmoraghing (sp?) and, she hopes, to slow the progression of my premature osteoporosis.

In the past couple of years I was dx'd with Ankylosing Spondylitis (my rheumatologist had, previously, lumped under the umbrella term "arthritis" until he saw the results of my HLA-B27 tests); I don't know if that affects the jaw bones, too, or not.

I could've (and maybe should've) give a bit more (backround) info.; I've had the TMJ problems since my early 20s. When I lived in the S.F. Bay Area, I used to see a maxillofacial surgeon/specialist for the TMJ itself; I was "fitted" with a nightguard and soft splints.

For years, I also saw a dentist 4 times each year - along with bi-annual appointments with my maxillofacial surgeon.

I don't have dentures, and don't grind or clench my teeth - that I'm aware of.

A few years ago, I changed dentists (after having spent years commuting to the Bay Area in order to stay with my dentist and surgeon). I changed dentists after one was highly recommended - and everything seemed to check out okay (respective of the dentist).

Well, things took a drastic turn for the worst when I lost a filling, and the dentist decided to clean my teeth (in quadrants) before filling the tooth; the process was stretched out over several weeks.

I know, I know... I should have listened to that "inner voice" that was indicating that it just didn't seem right. I ended up eating most of the tooth - the one that needed a new filling - after a couple of months and while on vacation. (The appointments were rather protracted - due to how the dentist wanted them scheduled.) The tooth, then, needed a crown.

Knowing that I have TMJ, the dentist propped my mouth open for around 3 hours during one appointment - for the crown - and... suddenly stopped and just left me just sitting there. When she returned, she took more x-rays and explained that she needed to call in another dentist. Calcification was the prob., and she couldn't get "through it"; she said she hadn't expected that, and it was far more common in elderly patients. The "more experienced" dentist would not be available for a couple of weeks. When I saw him, my mouth was propped open, once again, for a lengthy duration of several hours... and I had lost feeling in the tip of my nose and left side of my face.

I had asked the dentist about it - after two weeks of nothing changing - and was assured it could take more time for the feeling to return.

Well, as it turned out, my neurologist and neurosurgeon said that the 5th cranial nerve was "blown through" (thank you, needles ), and, for any more dental work, I should be seeing an endodontist and totally out for procedures.

The prob. tooth is the top of my mouth; I think it's number 13 or 14 (my neighbor, who works for a dental surgeon, had told me). It remains with a temp. crown, since I have this deep-seated fear of more nerve damage if something, again, doesn't quite go as it should.

The area that hurts like heck is lower left jaw, near the molars.

I'm so terrified of dentists now, I don't have one. (I spent two years with the neurologist to get some of the feeling back in the left side of my face.)

The ice has been helping, yet... it's probably a stop-gap measure.


Any idea of things I should be looking for/asking when searching for an endodontist? I am a pre-med - prior to dental appointments - patient, thanks to my heart; I see my cardio. doc this Wednesday, and I know he'll Rx the pre-meds. so I can feel more at ease about having my mouth probbed; if I make the appointment without the antibiotics, I'll be sent away, anyway, until pre-med., a need that I hope won't also create additional delay.