Hi Bryanna,

Once again I would like your advice on something.
Since my last post I had another 2 appointments with the surgeon who performed my wisdom teeth surgery & debridement. I'm experiencing pain in the extraction site on the right side of my mouth. I was sure that it was the second molar causing problems, but upon examining my dentist said the tooth is perfectly healthy.

The pain I'm feeling is located in the back, but it radiates towards the front of my mouth (lower front teeth). The surgeon, as well as my regular dentist, keep saying that I'm experiencing "nerve pain". They've given me antibiotics (just to be sure - because there's no sign of infection, no pus or anything like that) & painkillers (Zaldiar). The painkillers help, but I don't want it to become a habit. They're very strong & I feel a bit drowsy when I take them.
I also have a feeling that the pain tends to get worse when I'm experiencing a lot of stress at work (not enough sleep, long hours, ...).
Also, when I have to talk a lot, I feel pain. Chewing is also a problem. I don't have severe pain while chewing, but mostly afterwards. (No real sensitivity to hot/cold.) Why is that? Does it have to do with my jaw or the nerves?

Do you think all of this is normal? The surgeon says I can call him anytime, but he's hesitant to do another debridement, because he thinks he won't find anything new.
When can I expect this "nerve pain" to go away? Should I just be patient? Am I being too anxious?

Thanks a lot for your input, Bryanna!

Kind regards

Frederique

Hi Frederique,

Has the pain been present since the second debridement? Or did it calm down and now come back again? Is the pain the same type of pain that you had with the original abscess or is it in a different area?

You say you have pain when your stressed, talking a lot and after chewing, this sounds like it could be muscle pain. When we're stressed or over tired its common to clench our teeth together. If you do this long enough and often enough, the muscle will get tight and inflamed. The nerves in the jaw can also become irritated and inflamed which can cause referred pain to occur in other areas of the mouth and even other teeth.

Some things that need to be determined before someone can tell you your pain is nerve related are ...... is there a cavitation in the jaw bone at the wisdom tooth site .... do you have muscle tenderness in the jaw/and tmj area.... are you clenching or grinding your teeth .... and your occlusion (bite) needs to be checked to see if you are hitting against a tooth or teeth unnecessarily hard when you chew. Not all dentists can diagnose a cavitation in the bone. Oral surgeons know what to look for but there is no guarantee they will diagnose it. Biological dentists usually know what to look for and tend to be more inclined to diagnose these areas but there is no guarantee there either. Your general dentist can check your bite ... and check for abnormal wear on your teeth indicating a clenching or grinding habit.

I think something is not right as it has been many months since the extractions and you should be fine by now.

Has the dentist taken any post op xrays of that area? If you want, you can have them emailed to you and post them here if you are comfortable doing that.

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

Yes, the pain did calm down after the debridement in January. It flared back up in March, that's when they put me on another round of antibiotics and painkillers. That's also when they insured me that it had nothing to do with my second molar.
The pain eventually subsided again, but came back in September. The oral surgeon finds this very weird because he can't see any swelling or signs of an infection. I also don't have a bad taste in my mouth or anything like that.

The pain is usually much better in the morning, when I wake up. It gets worse during the day (talking, eating, ...).
Another (weird) thing I've noticed is that whenever I touch the back of my mouth (inside, with my tongue or finger - extraction area & second molar), I can feel it in my front bottom teeth. Not all of them, but a few on the right side. Like it radiates to the front of my mouth.

I don't have a problem with cold or hot drinks/foods.
However, I do feel pain in my jaw/the back of my mouth after a meal that included a lot of chewing. Also, something very cold (like ice cream) can also cause an intense pain. It goes away after a few minutes. I have a sortlike pain when I have to walk outside & there's an icy wind blowing.
Is it normal for muscle pain or jaw pain to actually feel like toothache?

Thanks for your help, Bryanna.
I'll try to get a hold of my x-rays.

Frederique

Hi Frederique,

Yes, jaw or muscle pain can mimic toothache pain. I am curious to see the xrays of that area. I hope you can get them.

Bryanna

Hi Frederique,

I know it's been a long time since this was going on but i think I'm going through something similar and I'd appreciate any advice. I recently had 2 wisdom teeth out after a bad year of infections. The area healed fine actually - it's been 11 days and the gums look fine, extraction was pretty straightforward - it did have to happen 4 days after a new infection started but I was on 7 days of metronidazole and seemed to be ok - again, the sites are happy. However I have VERY similar symptoms to what you're describing. I wake up and I'm ok - temperature not too much of an issue but chewing/talking seems to aggravate the tooth that is next to extraction site - in my case a root canal tooth. I have been scared it's an infection but the gums around it seem happy enough - it's more a pressure on the area and like you it can radiate to front teeth. It's not like I can't live with it - if you said this was your typical day now I could deal but I'm scared it's indicative of something more sinister abc worry what could be going on below. How are things now? Any help greatly appreciated