Dental Forum

TMJD began in 1/2006, at same time I had intense pain in tooth #18. There was a very small filling in the tooth but no present decay. My dentist removed filling and found a small hairline fracture that began at one side of the tooth but did not go all the way across and did not go down as deep as gumline. She tried to bond it but that made pain worse. (Upon biting down and releasing, sharp pain resulted.) It was then determined I needed root canal. The root canal was not easy - I felt some of treatment due to inflammation from crack and afterwards I had pain for a few days both in the tooth and jaw. My jaw pain is on left side only - same side as tooth. My crown was placed on tooth with temporary cement and left like that for months - but the off and on discomfort remained. It was finally cemented in permanently 6 months later. It is NOT same pain I experienced when it was cracked - - it is on the sides only and almost feels like it is loose - yet dentists have examined it and say it is not loose. Also - most of the time when the tooth hurts, my jaw (on left only) hurts - the pain goes back to from of ear area. Sometimes is a spasm, or a tightening of muscles, other times a dull ache, and it will also include my lower jaw.

Been to many TMJD �specialists�. Found a specialist back in March who has begun to help me. I have had MRI and he maintains I have displaced discs on both sides. He started me on $800 upper appliance to reposition my jaw. Three months later I moved on to a lower ($1200) appliance that is to stabilize my jaw. I am to wear this for the next 6 months and once I am painfree - I am to get braces. My bite has shifted significantly in the last year and is very bad now. However new, lower appliance hurts my tooth! He has tried to make it looser around that one tooth but it did not work. He cut the crown off and tried to shave down the tooth for a better fit, it did not work. He told me I must get the tooth re-treated and to return to the Endo.

I saw Endo last night and she will not retreat my root canal at this time. After being in off and on discomfort in this one tooth I had treated a year and a half ago she sees NO evidence of it needing to be retreated. She xrayed it and sees NO shadows, only perfectly filled roots. She also says for me to stay open that long will only cause me to go into more spasm in my jaw. She said if I was not dealing with TMJD issues she would try to retreat it - but she feels CERTAIN the pain is associated with the jaw and is all referred pain. My pain from the tooth radiates back to my jaw and the masseter muscle and trideminal nerve. She wants me to try to get the jaw issues under control first before retreating the tooth. She does not feel it is fractured further either - she tested the gumline etc. Now that said, there is no way she can determine if the initial hairline fracture has gone deeper but again she does not believe that is the issue.

So I continue with this discomfort in this one tooth. Very frustrating. She if it is pulled - I could STILL have the pain.

What I was asking was whether anyone has ever experienced referred pain from their jaw and associated nerves and muscles to one isolated tooth. I have since learned MANY people have. And that i should keep the tooth and not have it removed or get an implant.