I am a 34yr old mom of 3. I had a root canal this summer that was pretty bad and I waited long to fix it. I also have a dental implant on the tooth behind the root canal. I decided to get both the crowns replaced at one time. About a week later I developed the worst pain in my life. Burning, vice like pressure, I cannot even describe it. Nothing relieved the pian (tylanol, advil, aleve, vicode) the only relief I got was from xanax which was perscribed for occasional anxiety/sleeplessness years ago. I was completely confusted. I went to my dentist in tears and he removed one crown, the one on the dental implant, I felt some pressure relief but suddenly got painful burning that drove me crazy for a couple days. Since then the pain varries, it can be a dull ache in the root canal tooth (which has become sensitve to pressure again) it can be a pain in the tooth in front of that one. Sometimes I even feel like I want to rip the implant post out of my mouth. Sometimes it is like a rubberband is around my teeth. Pain spikes to terrible levels and leaves me panicky and terrified. My life is falling apart. I cry everyday. I now have no tooth on my implant, a painful root canal tooth that I would love to just have extracted but they don't want to do that without proof it needs to be, and pain in my other teeth. It is disrupting my whole life and that of my family memebers too. At times I cannot fathom that pulling the root canal tooth won't solve the problem. I am so afraid of being in worse pain. I feel trapped. I see a neurologist next week and am also having an MRI. I have made continual trips to the oral surgeon, dentist, and endodontist. When the endo did an occlual adjustment to get the RC tooth out of occlusioin I went through the roof with pain for days. I even went to the hospital. At times I am even considering a mental hospital since I am so worn down, panicky, and feel like I cannot cope. Does anyone have any suggestions or situations that are similar to mine? Does this ever go away? Will things always be this painful? How will I manage a young family like this, all I do is cry and painic with pain.

Thanks!
Becca

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

You might want to copy this post over at our dental forum too.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum89.html

If you have difficulty with that, please contact me or another moderator or post here, and one of us will do it for you.

Hi Becca,

I'm glad you've already got an appointment with a neurologist. Nerve pain doesn't usually respond to normal pain meds. I can't tell you what to expect regarding how long your pain will last and whether or not it will go away. This varies greatly from person to person. Also, without a firm diagnosis, you don't really know what your dealing with yet. There is a form of this condition that can be brought on by dental work although I can't recall the name at this time. You mentioned having a dental implant. Is it possible that the nerve was injured? Did the root canal tooth have an abcess? Just a few things that come to my mind at this time. There is a thread at the top of this page that houses a lot of information regarding this condition. If you haven't already done so, it would be useful for you to read through some of it and go to some of the sites mentioned for further information. I know its tough to wait but your appointment is only a week away so you're pretty close to getting some answers. Hang in there. As for coping in the interim, when the pain spikes tell yourself that there will be an end to it. Just hang on and try to focus on that thought. Distraction techniques are also great at tricking your brain. I've grabbed an ice brick out of the freezer during some of my earlier attacks and it takes the focus away from the facial pain. Even holding it in your hand can sometimes help, if your conveinent to it when it happens. Take care and post what you find out about your condition. EE

Hello,

The neurologist said it was trigeminal neurapathy that was somehow brought about by the dental work. He had a whole list of meds that can work and that are generally tried until the right one is found. I also had a CT of my jaw done and it showed a translucent area on one part of a root canal. Everyone agrees that there is a neuralgia in the area but in addition my tooth is probably cracked or needs retreatment. I fear this will make things flare up worse. The pain today is going to my ear and the tooth in front of the root canal.

To be honest, I am a naturally anxious person and this has been so hard on me. It was like one day I suddenly had the worst pain in my life and since then the whole lower side has had varing degrees of discomfort. I am afraid in a weird way of my own self. Thank you to all that post on this board. I have found it informational and supportive.

God Bless,
Marie