Kat, this is sure a mystery, having this shifting pain in your mouth. Particularly the sharp pain along your tongue. That sounds more like an irritation of the nerve. Have you thought about seeing a neurologist?

Having teeth that don’t properly occlude when biting can definitely create long term problems such as jaw pain or individual teeth having intense pain. Humans have a biting power of about 162 pounds per square inch. That’s a lot of pressure which is usually divided equally over both arches as teeth come together. If you have a tooth out of position and it’s bearing the brunt of that pressure, it’s jarring to the tooth, nerve tissue and bone supporting the tooth.

You’ve probably done this a million times, but try an experiment right now. Standing or sitting, with your lips closed, jaw relaxed and slack, not clenched. Very lowly bring your teeth together until they naturally stop. You should be able to feel all the teeth interlocking into place and touching relatively equally. Do any teeth feel like they have high points that are hitting first?

When the dentist checks your bite with the articulating paper, are you sitting upright in the chair?