umsami Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Saturday morning I broke off a cusp of my second rear bottom molar. Not a surprise, as I grind my teeth, wear a bite guard, and have had two others crowns. Unfortunate, because of the holiday weekend. Saw an emergency dentist Sunday morning for a crown. She did a great job....but I'm difficult to numb so she needed to inject me on three different occasions to fully numb the area. (Multiple injections). Actual procedure was painless, and she used a splint to help keep my jaw open. Since Sunday, I've been in constant jaw pain and cannot open my mouth fully anymore. It appears that the injections may have caused some sort of trismus. I'm doing heat and ibuprofen for now. A friend suggested I look into botox. Any experience been there/done that with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 I just had preparation for a permanent crown on a back molar; in fact, I still have the temporary crown until the permanent one is ready. The whole thing was a major ordeal because I had the temporary crown put on, but had awful jaw pain from the procedure, and the jaw pain extended from my front tooth to my ear. It turns out that the molar (which takes a huge bite force) had a crack in it and bacteria had leaked in over time and damaged the tooth so badly that I wound up needing a root canal. So I had the temporary brown removed and got the root canal, and no problems since. Is it possible that the constant biting and grinding put a small crack in your tooth and now you need a root canal? I knew something was up because of pain when I drank cool liquids. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Yeah, I'm also wondering if you either need a root canal or if the crown isn't set right. It should be low enough that even when you grind your teeth there is no pressure on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 20 minutes ago, Reefgazer said: I just had preparation for a permanent crown on a back molar; in fact, I still have the temporary crown until the permanent one is ready. The whole thing was a major ordeal because I had the temporary crown put on, but had awful jaw pain from the procedure, and the jaw pain extended from my front tooth to my ear. It turns out that the molar (which takes a huge bite force) had a crack in it and bacteria had leaked in over time and damaged the tooth so badly that I wound up needing a root canal. So I had the temporary brown removed and got the root canal, and no problems since. Is it possible that the constant biting and grinding put a small crack in your tooth and now you need a root canal? I knew something was up because of pain when I drank cool liquids. Ugh, I hope not. It's possible. I'll check with the dentist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 I have a small mouth and it's difficult to open really wide when I get a molar filled. The muscle spasm starts when I'm sitting in the dental chair, and I'll have jaw pain for the next few days. A microwavable heat pack helps and a soft food diet, too. Many years ago I was having a lot of TMJ pain. The dentist made a bite guard for me, but I couldn't get used to it because it made me feel gaggy. I ended up having some acupuncture treatments that helped. I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I hope you can get some relief soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 On 5/31/2018 at 8:21 PM, umsami said: I'm difficult to numb so she needed to inject me on three different occasions to fully numb the area. (Multiple injections). Actual procedure was painless, and she used a splint to help keep my jaw open. Since Sunday, I've been in constant jaw pain and cannot open my mouth fully anymore. It appears that the injections may have caused some sort of trismus. I'm doing heat and ibuprofen for now. Any experience been there/done that with this? This exact same thing happened to me. I don't know if I should start a new thread about it or just bump this one. Had a crown 9 days ago, was difficult to numb and needed a lot of novocaine, but otherwise the procedure was fine. I have jaw pain and can barely open my mouth. I did a google search a few days ago and it is definitely trismus. I contacted my dentist and he said just keep up with ibuprofen and eat soft foods. Google says it lasts around two weeks. I'm going to try heat compresses today. I have an old Rx for a muscle relaxer that I'll try if the pain doesn't ease up soon. This is miserable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 I remember one time having had a lot of work done and afterward it rooks days before I could open my jaw fully again. It wasn’t weeks though, it was days. I grind and am prone to tmj regularly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 4 hours ago, SanDiegoMom said: I remember one time having had a lot of work done and afterward it rooks days before I could open my jaw fully again. It wasn’t weeks though, it was days. I can barely get my jaw open enough for a small spoon. It's horrible. 😞 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 On 2/16/2024 at 1:45 PM, Kassia said: I can barely get my jaw open enough for a small spoon. It's horrible. 😞 I'm so sorry to hear this. My first time was after having wisdom teeth removed. I wasn't in pain after the normal healing, but I couldn't open my mouth wide for a month. (Angling in small spoonfuls of food...) I had it again after something major, but it resolved more quickly. The third time, I knew and discussed with the oral surgeon, who loaded me up with 800mg Advil (for the anti-inflammatory benefit) prior to the procedure, and then gave me frequent close-your-mouth breaks. Also, if possible, schedule work so it's done in stages with time in between. (Some procedures can be done that way, others not.) Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 1 hour ago, Halftime Hope said: I'm so sorry to hear this. My first time was after having wisdom teeth removed. I wasn't in pain after the normal healing, but I couldn't open my mouth wide for a month. (Angling in small spoonfuls of food...) I had it again after something major, but it resolved more quickly. The third time, I knew and discussed with the oral surgeon, who loaded me up with 800mg Advil (for the anti-inflammatory benefit) prior to the procedure, and then gave me frequent close-your-mouth breaks. Also, if possible, schedule work so it's done in stages with time in between. (Some procedures can be done that way, others not.) Best wishes! Thank you for posting. Oh, I hope this doesn't last a month. I'm miserable. I can barely even brush my teeth because getting the toothbrush in hurts. Eating is agony and sometimes the pain brings me to tears (but this hasn't stopped me from eating 😛 ). Google says expect about two weeks so I'm hoping for that. I'm sorry you've been through this too but glad your oral surgeon figured out a way to avoid it in the future. I'll have to remember to do that for the next time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Are you able to do the exercise where you press your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind your top front teeth and slowly and gently open your jaw within whatever your pain free range is while holding your tongue in that spot? Or is even attempting a small amount of movement like that painful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 13 minutes ago, KSera said: Are you able to do the exercise where you press your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind your top front teeth and slowly and gently open your jaw within whatever your pain free range is while holding your tongue in that spot? Or is even attempting a small amount of movement like that painful? I can do that. It's sore but not terribly painful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I don’t want you to do anything to aggravate it, so I’m hesitant to suggest continuing if it’s at all painful. But that particular exercise/stretch can often be really helpful with TMJ pain. I’m having some similar but nowhere near as bad issues myself and it helps me when mine is flaring up 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 1 hour ago, Kassia said: Thank you for posting. Oh, I hope this doesn't last a month. I'm miserable. I can barely even brush my teeth because getting the toothbrush in hurts. Eating is agony and sometimes the pain brings me to tears (but this hasn't stopped me from eating 😛 ). Google says expect about two weeks so I'm hoping for that. I'm sorry you've been through this too but glad your oral surgeon figured out a way to avoid it in the future. I'll have to remember to do that for the next time. Kassia, I'm wondering if there isn't something else going on, in addition to trismus. I couldn't open the jaw very much, but I wasn't in excruciating pain. The reason I remember it being a month is because it was such an accomplishment to eat a burger at one month out! What you're experiencing sounds like another visit is needed, right away. I'm so sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 21 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said: Kassia, I'm wondering if there isn't something else going on, in addition to trismus. I couldn't open the jaw very much, but I wasn't in excruciating pain. The reason I remember it being a month is because it was such an accomplishment to eat a burger at one month out! What you're experiencing sounds like another visit is needed, right away. I'm so sorry! The pain is only severe when I'm trying to eat something that I can't open wide enough for - anything with a spoon, a thin rice cake with peanut butter on it, etc. Otherwise it's mostly just soreness/dull ache and it gets sore if I chew too much (like last night I ate way too much mac n cheese and that was a lot of chewing even though it was very soft). As long as I'm not trying to shovel food in my mouth that doesn't fit the opening it's very tolerable. I can't imagine trying to eat any kind of sandwich at this point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 On 2/18/2024 at 4:47 PM, Halftime Hope said: Kassia, I'm wondering if there isn't something else going on, in addition to trismus. I couldn't open the jaw very much, but I wasn't in excruciating pain. The reason I remember it being a month is because it was such an accomplishment to eat a burger at one month out! What you're experiencing sounds like another visit is needed, right away. I'm so sorry! I told my dentist about the trismus and he had me come in yesterday to evaluate. He said it's the masseter muscle (he could feel it knotted up) that is affected and told me to take 800 mg ibuprofen 3 times a day and use ice. So far I'm still not getting any relief. 😞 Tonight I finally found something I can eat that doesn't make me cry - french fries. I can actually get them in my mouth and they are soft enough (even though it's not ideal to have to chew). Everything else has brought me to tears because it's so painful to open my mouth. I'm supposed to call on Monday if it's not better by then. I'm using a q-tip to brush the teeth I can't get to with a toothbrush. Not ideal, but better than nothing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Is there any way you could get a muscle relaxer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 2 minutes ago, Terabith said: Is there any way you could get a muscle relaxer? I have some from a surgery I had 2+ years ago. They do take the edge off but then I'm so sleepy and I hate that feeling. It takes away the soreness, but doesn't help me open my mouth any wider. My dentist said I could keep taking them for pain relief, but they won't do anything for healing so I prefer not to take them because of the side effects. I did take 1-2 a day for a few days though. My old college roommate is a dentist and said that she thinks the next step will be steroids and I'm hoping to avoid that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 2 hours ago, Kassia said: I have some from a surgery I had 2+ years ago. They do take the edge off but then I'm so sleepy and I hate that feeling. It takes away the soreness, but doesn't help me open my mouth any wider. My dentist said I could keep taking them for pain relief, but they won't do anything for healing so I prefer not to take them because of the side effects. I did take 1-2 a day for a few days though. My old college roommate is a dentist and said that she thinks the next step will be steroids and I'm hoping to avoid that. oh gosh, I'm so sorry this is still so painful. Could you go see a PT or other TMJ specialist? Are you applying heat and massaging? I have a thing from Amazon that holds two gel packs (can be used hot or cold) on each side of the jaw. You could probably rig up similar by making up two rice socks and tying them around your head with a scarf (yes, you will look extra cute like this 😉). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 4 hours ago, KSera said: oh gosh, I'm so sorry this is still so painful. Could you go see a PT or other TMJ specialist? Are you applying heat and massaging? I have a thing from Amazon that holds two gel packs (can be used hot or cold) on each side of the jaw. You could probably rig up similar by making up two rice socks and tying them around your head with a scarf (yes, you will look extra cute like this 😉). I was doing heat and massage and the dentist told me to switch to ice and back off on the massage (light massage less frequently). I'm still within the normal time frame for trismus (2 weeks I think is average - my dentist friend said it could be a month). I'm on day 11 now since symptoms started, but 2 1/2 weeks since the actual dental work was done. I don't want to go for PT or another doctor (yet) because of the cost (high deductible). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Update - started improving a bit last night and I just used a fork to eat eggs! I've never been so excited to use a fork in my life! 🙂 🙂 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 15 minutes ago, Kassia said: Update - started improving a bit last night and I just used a fork to eat eggs! I've never been so excited to use a fork in my life! 🙂 🙂 I’m so glad to hear! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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