Ongoing tooth pain in front tooth / Atypical odontalgia?

I too have bruxism and about 8 years ago had severe pain on the right side of my lower jaw that seemed to be coming from the first molar on the right side. My dentist did an x-ray of that area and could see nothing that would cause the pain I was having. A week later I had a thermogram done of my face at the Earth Day Festival and there was a visibly inflamed area where the pain was centered. ( I had not mentioned the jaw pain to the person who was doing the thermogram.) My sinuses also showed inflammation on the thermogram. My dentist then referred me to an Endodontist who did a root canal on the sensitive tooth. The pain went away after the root canal - but in retrospect I would have liked to find an alternative solution since root canals can have long term health consequences.
I don’t know if this has helped - I hope you find a solution to your pain,

Sincerely,
Lynne

I had post dental work pain and was told it takes a while for the nerves to settle down. If I have it again, I’d explore anti anxiety meds. My dental experience over the course of 2 months was very traumatic. I’ve suffered with anxiety since.

@plo99ca ..

I have TMJ (My jaws slip out of place and I clench my teeth) and trigeminal neuralgia (might be neuropathy now since I have had Shingles 3 times in the same area as the trigeminal neuralgia).

I had some dental work done (a crown on lower left and filling upper left) the first week of December in 2023. I did fine for a couple of weeks and then had pain on upper left. .. front tooth to last molar. My brother and his wife were visiting from the opposite side of the states. By time they left the pain was intense. Of course the dentist out of town for the holidays. So 11 January I had the bite fixed. I think my bite went haywire because of the TMJ. It seems like my jaw slips out of place more often than it used to. My dentist said that with age the muscle gets weaker. (I am 72+)

Now last Friday morning .. 02 February .. I awakened with the right side of my face shoved hard into my pillow. Yep .. my jaw slipped out of place. It is usually my right jaw .. this time it was my left that slipped. The sound of the popping was loud and in a place it normally isn’t. Very weird that my right side was shoving hard into the pillow and it is the left side that slipped out of place. I got my jaw back where I thought it belonged. I did take one Valium each night Saturday, Sunday and Monday to relax my neck muscles to reduce pain in my neck. Hopefully I will sleep tonight without it.

I called my dentist office on Monday .. but as most Mondays they were busy and my call was not returned. Of course my pain increased.. especially one tooth. I called this morning and I got the person I needed to talk with. She made arrangements for me to come in at 1:00pm. A hygienist took x-rays .. difficult with the pain I had. .. I could not bite down; she had to hold the x-ray card. All looked good on them. So, out of alignment. The dentist came in and examined and fixed the bite again. We discussed how I couldn't keep doing this and he said I need the bite guard. My husband was with me and he helped with the correct questions. I go to the office again Thurs. His team will do a scan and impression and when the guard is ready I will get a call to pick it up. Hopefully this will help along with some exercises to strengthen the jaw muscles. I found some on youtube.

Oh .. my tooth still hurts, but is better. It is bruised from the extra force of hitting my other teeth from the shift of teeth. That should ease over the next few days .

I hope you find relief.

@fourof5zs ,
Oh my….I do sympathize. Dental pain is horrendous. I hope the treatment works out and really helps. Sending positive thoughts your way.

@ celia16
I still have some pain .. still subsiding. I got my guard yesterday. I was asked to come in to make sure it fit .. a little adjustment was needed. I wore it for about 3 hours last night. I took it out when I got up to let the dog out. My jaws were a little more achy. So decided I might should just ease into wearing it. It takes a bit to get used to anything new.

That’s interesting. I’ve had 3 guards. They were all pretty comfortable. Mine were very thin, maybe that’s why. I did wear them out though. I found an old one recently, but I don’t think it fits. I need a new one.

@celia16

The guard is comfortable. Just have a bit of residual jaw & tooth pain. I was able to wear the guard all last night. It is snug, but comfortable. I can take it out of my mouth easily now. First time I thought it was stuck and wouldn’t come out.

I think this is going to work .. guard and exercises.

ZeeGee