Hi, please can anyone help!! Had a dental bridge 9weeks ago and have had toothache ever since, had a night guard from dentist which did not help and various readjustments ("Shavings") Saw an endontist on holiday in US who said I did not need root canal (my own dentist had also said this) Pain subsides after "shavings for 1-2 days then comes back in full force. saw dentist last wek and she said next option would be RC but it may not solve problem! Now adjacent teeth aching and will be going back to Dentist today. Have no gum inflammation or swelling and pain does not bother me through the night but starts as soon as I wake up. My gut feeling is that the bridge may be too tight and would takng the bridge away first be a better option than rushing in with a RC? Any suggestions welcome. Thanks

Hi Eenie,

If you did not have any pain prior to the installation of that bridge and your radiographs show no pathology, meaning no infection on any of the teeth, then it may be best to have it removed and redone. Are any of the teeth associated with this bridge root canaled?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna, thanks for reply. Saw another dentist in practice today and he thinks problem is to do with gum area over bridge. More tests and definitely no nerve death, although he did say it could be dying!! Put some herbal ointment round bridge and it is at least 80% better (Think it has oil of cloves in) So fingers crossed. But am not letting them rush into RC. Have never had RC. Basically this is the first dental problem I've had for at least 20years, so suppose I've been lucky. Radiographs (x3) at different times showed no pathology. fingers crosed

Hi Eenie,

So that's good that there's no obvious tooth infection brewing!!

The gum area that you speak of .... I'm assuming it is along the gumline where the bridge meets the gum and it is perhaps a bit inflamed?

Sometimes the actual gumline margins of the crown/bridge are what is called subgingival (below the gumline) making that area irritated/inflamed or supragingival (far above the gumline) making it a trap for plaque. Either of these situations can cause a constant gum irritation and discomfort. In either case, usually thorough brushing and flossing will keep the irritation to a minimum. If the irritation becomes chronic, then a deep pocket will develop and the tooth will become compromised.

Sometimes the angle of the bridge is compromised for whatever reason and one or more of the units of the bridge are pressing into the gum tissue. This is not acceptable and means the bridge needs to be redone.

The herbal ointment is most likely oil of cloves and a local anesthetic. This is usually used to reduce the inflammation, but it's not necessarily a cure if the culprit of the irritation has something to do with your bridge. This ointment is also applied to a canker sore ulcer for temporary relief. Perhaps you have a little ulcer there?

Glad you have relief... hopefully it will stay that way!
Bryanna

Thanks Bryanna. The gum area that seems to be causing the problem is the middle of the crowns. (1 crown either side of where tooth was removed) Hope that makes sense! Have slight toothache today but nowhere near as bad as it has been .Am going to contact dentist again today as my own dentist is back. Think it could be a bridge problem as both crowns ache. One tooth was slightly painful to tapping, where 2 weeks ago both were! Think I have a gremlin in my mouth!! Dentist did say that if I got relief yesterday it would be the gum causing the problem, but from your reply and my symptoms I'm not so sure! Thanks again.

Hi Eenie,

The middle crown?? That's the pontic/fake tooth. Is that portion of the bridge jammed into that gum tissue? Is there room to get a floss threader underneath that area comfortably?

If both anchor teeth are healthy and they were not hurting prior to the placement of this bridge.... then it could be the fit of the bridge that is causing excessive pressure on those anchor teeth. In that case, the bridge would need to be redone or the periodontal ligaments that hold those anchor teeth in the bone are going to become very inflamed and both teeth could die. It could also be the bite is not lined up properly and you may be clenching during your sleep. If it is the bite, then when you wake up in the morning you would feel some achiness....pain... tenderness in the jaw.... which could subside or get worse as the day goes on.

Is anything temperature sensitive?

Bryanna

Trigger points in muscles of jaw/neck sometimes refer pain into the teeth.
From personal experience, I know that the extension of jaw during dental work can activate TrPs, which in turn can hurt as intensely as a toothache

Visit this site for more info:
http://lifeafterpain.com/info/trigge...nd-tooth-pain/

Here's another good link:
http://www.gustrength.com/muscles:st...trigger-points

Because these TrPs are located within easy reach, you can work them yourself.

Thank you both for reply. GaryA, will check these sites. Bryanna, will heed your advice too and am takng night guard with me. So pleased I am able to go away. Thought it wouldn't happen! Am going to Spain with 6 other girls and we all started working together 40 yrs ago and now live in different parts of the country, so should be good. Take care, Inez

Oh Wow!! This sounds like so much fun.... ENJOY!!!!

Hi Bryanna, missed 1st reply, sorry. Bridge is made in a dental lab, so will discuss it with her. She wants to leave the temporary 1 in for 1 month and see if further developments that suggest a root canal is needed. Was thinking of changing my dentist, but she said she will only charge me the lab fees, so not sure now. Also this dentist is only 5mins. walk from me and so far has had very good reputation. maybe I've just been unlucky!