Tooth ligament and tongue pain.

I spent a lot of money on replacing crowns, same ones 3 times, had a root canal and pulled a tooth because I had burning mouth, tongue, and tooth. Fought it for almost 4 years. Finally was diagnosed with silent reflux and Barrett’s. Treatment with ppi ( Prilosec then nexium) and sucralfate liquid stopped my burning. Was not quick. Took 30 days before I saw improvement in the burning pain. I am now 4 months into treatment for reflux and Barrett’s. It’s so wonderful when I do not have any burning. My body is so relaxed. If burning breaks thru I chew a pepsid complete. Of course I follow all guidelines for types of food and eating with reflux and do everything advised including raising my head of my bed up.

Hi Kat. I swear, when your mouth hurts, everyting hurts! If you don’t mind sharing a little more, I’d like to ask you a few more questions about what you’re experiencing. I’ve had a long career in dentistry as a certified dental assistant. I’m not dentist but I’m willing to try to help you get to the root of the problem.

Can you tell me a little more about the type of pain you’re feeling in your tongue? Is it pulling as though the tongue isn’t free to move? Or sharp pains in the tongue when talking or chewing?
Do you feel that you’re biting your tongue while talking and chewing? Are you nicking your tongue and cheeks? Or is this primarily felt inside your tongue with no visible biting.

You mentioned your dentist adjusting the bite. Were the areas trimmed marking as high spots on the articulating paper your dentist used to check the bite?

You recenlty saw an orthodontist. What was determined? Are your teeth out of alignment? Did they take study models or use imagining to check the accuracy of your bite when closed.

I’m wondering about trying mouthguards. Not the large, athletic guards you make at home. In this case, the guards would be clear, thin plastic much like the Invisalign trays used in that form of orthodontia or some custom night guards. You could try them at night to see if it makes any difference in how your mouth feels. Your dentist would be the person to ask.

Have you been checked for possible TMJ (temporal mandibular joint) issues. Usually they don’t involve the tongue but anything is possible. If this is more muscular than say, biting your tongue, there might be some merit in trying a massage therapist who specializes in myofacial release. There are practioners who specialize in that area and will do a massage to loosen tension in the mouth.

Since you’ve been suffering from this for 20 years, can you pinpoint when the discomfort began? Did anything change in your life? More stress, anxiety, health issues? How about wisdom tooth removal or any other type of oral surgery?

Thank you for your response!
I’ll try to answer as best as I can.
I have had the bite adjustments due to hitting too hard on that particular tooth getting adjusted.
I’ve worn a bite guard for many years. My dentist makes them for me. The pain I feel is actually dependent on which “tooth” hurts. My left side is worsened by chewing, taking, yawning. It feels sharp..it feels like the nerve is irritated along the side of my tongue.
When the right side hurts, I usually don’t have tongue pain. The 3 teeth that are usually bothering me are 29,30 and 31. I am a hard biter according to my dentist and that is said to cause some of the biting pain as well as malocclusion. My orthodontist wants to treat me with braces to straighten my bite. I was told it’s not 100% guarantee it will solve the pain I deal with, so now I’m having 2nd thoughts.
I hope I answered the questions for you. Please ask more as I am so happy to answer.
Thank you!
Kar

The issues seemed to start after a root canal on tooth #18.
I noticed some discomfort on that side. Eventually, tooth #29 started giving me issues after having a filling replaced. After about 6 months, it finally settled down, but still gave me issues below the tooth. This went on for years and finally when my dentist adjusted the tooth behind it, I finally had relief. I did not have pain for over a year on that side, but then tooth #13 started bothering me along with almost constant side tongue pain..sharp. Made worse by talking.
Had that tooth adjusted, then #29 started bothering me again..not the tooth, but below it..felt deep. A few weeks ago, #21 started to bother me..but behind it. Just to note, I had tooth 18 removed 4 years ago as the root canal failed. I had the area of tooth 19 adjusted a couple weeks ago, but am still dealing with jaw and tongue pain. The tongue pain is sharp and worse with talking, chewing. I have a fairly simple life. I am single and happy, have 2 great jobs and am financially very stable. I don’t feel as stress is the problem as I have removed a lot of stress over the years. I am wondering if it truly is my bite being so far off, but it just doesn’t make sense the pain deal with because of it. (To note, the area of #29, #30, and 31 are not bothering me at all right now.) Also, I know I have a lot of shifting from missing tooth 18, but even when I had that tooth, I had pain on the 29,30 and 31 side almost all the time.
Thanks so much!

I have suffered with burning mouth, tongue and tooth. After almost 4 years I was diagnosed with silent reflux and Barrett’s. It was finally recommended I get an esophagus scope. Treatment for reflux with sucralfate liquid, Prilosec and pepsid complete has almost stopped my burning completely after 4 months of treatment, and following guidelines for living, sleeping, and foods, and drinks! Took patience to see results!

I’m so glad you got the help you needed!
I don’t deal with burning, just jaw and tongue pain as well as tooth ligament pain that mimicks a toothache. I am wondering if I have something going on with my nerves or if it’s all truly brought on by a heavy misaligned bite.

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?

Hi Lori! Thank you so much for reaching out to me! I’m actually feeling like I’m having some hope to figure this out and be out of pain for good!
As far as the bite test, I’ve think I’ve been both sitting up and reclined for it.
Yes, I have actually recently been thinking about seeing a neurologist. I’m in Michigan, so I’m thinking of going to the University Of Michigan to get this checked out.
I do think my hard bite and misaligned teeth are a culprit, but I also think I have super sensitive nerves in my mouth. After 20 years of dealing with this, and only temporarily solutions, I need to seek other treatment.
I tried clenching my teeth and I’m not really feeling anything too high. I had to struggle to get them to meet though.
Again, I really appreciate you reaching out to me. If you know if any doctors that can help me, I’m willing to travel.
Kat

I will add that it does get worse with chewing, basic mouth movement and talking. When I am not using my mouth at all, it calms way down and the pain sometimes goes away.

Kat, you shouldn’t have to struggle to get your teeth to mesh together evenly. I’d like you to try the bite test again, but this time don’t clench. Just gently close until the first tooth or cusp touches somewhere with teeth on the opposite arch. Note that tooth or point of contact. Then try to fully close, don’t clench) and note any tooth or point that touches next. The goal is to determine if the bite is evenly distributed.
I’m also suspect of your misaligned teeth and hard bite. Might be making nerves hypersensitive. I like your idea of reaching out to the U of M to their dental dept if they have one, neurology or both.