Teeth/root Canal Problems Anyone?

[gabby]

Hi,

This is a bit long (sorry) but I'm having major teeth problems.

I'm about to lose a tooth to yet another failed root canal, and I'm just feeling sick about it. I'm giong to explain what has been happening with my teeth over the last 5 years and I'd appreciate it if anybody could respond who knows what's going on, or what could be going on. Thanks.

First off, I've been eating strictly gluten-free for just over a year. I also have hyperinsulinemia (too much insulin produced when I eat) and am on a special eating plan that keeps my blood sugar very stable.

5 years ago, my top left molar (the last one) started hurting really bad. They took x-rays and the tooth looked perfect. So we waited 4 months. It still hurt pretty bad, so even though they couldn't find a cause for the pain, they did a root canal. Before the procedure, they gave me 5 needles for freezing...and none of them worked! It was bizarre. They finally gave me drugs for the pain, and did the root canal. The endodontist said the tooth was perfectly healthy, but that the procedure should stop the pain. It didn't. The root canal never healed and the pain never stopped. 6 months later, the pain was unbearable and they PULLED OUT the tooth!

In April this year, the adjacent tooth (upper left side) started hurting. Again, the x-ray showed nothing. The pain grew and grew and in August, they did a root canal on what turned out to be another healthy tooth. As of the writing of this letter (October) the root canal has not yet healed and still hurts.

But here's the big problem.....all this week, I've had the same throbbing type of pain in a new tooth on the upper right side of my mouth. Sort of just under the cheekbone. It hurts when I walk, it hurts as I am sitting here typing. I have an appointment in two weeks to see what's happening, but I'm scared stiff of two things:

Are they unneccessarily doing root canals on healthy teeth?

and

Will I eventually lose all my teeth?

Does anyone know what could be going on?

Thanks for your help

[blondehart]

I am so sorry for you....I have also gone thru massive amounts of dental work since childhood. Currently, I am replacing "lifetime" bridgework. You do what you have to do. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion. Keep us posted.

[robbiesmom]

Sorry about your teeth! That is worse than giving birth-I hate the dentist but go religously every six months. right now at age 34 I have one root canal with a crown and 4 other teeth with crowns because of cracked fillings that were too large to repair-I also have TMJ from grinding. I have always had very bad teeth no matter how much I brush and floss-something about having acidic saliva-my Mother has this issue as well. Also my aunt who we suspect is celiac has had many teeth pulled. Maybe the gluten free diet will start helping with these issues but will probably take some time. I am hoping I will have less problems the longer I am on this diet. Good luck with your dentist and definitely get another opinion on the cause of your pain-My Aunt has terrible fibromyalsia which exacerbates her dental problems-it causes swelling in her gums.

[aikiducky]

Tooth pain doesn't necessarily have ANYTHING to do with your teeth! If the teeth repeatedly turn out to be healthy, you should look at other possibilities.

Here are a couple of muscles that can refer pain to the teeth, among others:

"# Masseter (TMJ, tinnitus, toothache, and "sinus" in both upper and lower molars). For its size and weight, the masseter is the strongest muscle in the body and its effects are not trivial. Masseter-Pain-Composite It refers pain to both upper and lower molar teeth, causes TMJ dysfunction, earache and a "sinus" pain over the eyebrow.

Prozac and related anti-depressants such as Paxil specifically cause tightness in this muscle. If you're grinding your teeth at night and waking with a headache, ask your doctor about taking the medication during the daytime when more aware of clenching, which also impacts the temporalis . . .

# Temporalis ("tension / sinus" headache, TMJ and toothache in upper teeth). Temporalis-Pain Combine a head-forward position with pipe-chomping and long hours of playing the violin (see the scalene pain pattern, above) and what do you get?

"Elementary!" cries Dr. Watson. "Head pain, tooth pain (and extreme tooth sensitivity to heat/cold and vibration)."

"

from:

Open Original Shared Link

Pauliina

[mommida]

There is a proven tooth enamel diffeciency along with this.

I fell when I was in second grade and broke both my front teeth. The one front tooth broke and exposed the root. I had my first root canal in second grade, 2 more root canals on the same tooth about every 8 years. My first apiodectomy (spelling is probably wrong on that , but it is basically a root canal through the bone getting at the root from the other end) at the age of 28. I just had the proceedure again last year on the same tooth. It is a problem to have the root canal very young when the end of the root canal is still open receiving nourishment. There may have been a fracture that kept allowing bacteria to leak in.

If you think there is a chance that there is an abcess GET TO THE DENTIST IMMEDIATELY! The infection can cause your body so much damage i.e. blood poisoning. Better to get it done and over with as soon as possible.

Yes I do think Celiac had a majorpart in the saga.

Laura

[gabby]

Here's an update on my root canal sage...

I went to the dentist yesterday, 3 full months after having the root canal done, and the tooth is still causing lots of pain. He had to take out the temp filling and needed to use some freezing...but again, the freezing did not work and I could feel everything. My dentist is a really nice guy...and seeing that the freezing wasn't working, he took the time to carefully scrape out the filling instead of using the drill. It took about 2 hours.

He put in a more solid filling and said to wait until we figure out what's happening. In the mean time, he did more x-rays of the teeth on the other side that are causing grief, and they look absolutely perfect. The one tooth that's really causing pain doesn't even have any cavities. So he is stumped....but he said in dentistry, he comes across about 1 in 2000 people who react like this, so it is uncommon, but not uheard of.

He did say it was weird that the freezing doesn't want to take...

I'm turning into Nancy Drew and I'll report anything my investigative spelunking (spelling?) turns up

[Rusla]

  gabby said:

Here's an update on my root canal sage...

I went to the dentist yesterday, 3 full months after having the root canal done, and the tooth is still causing lots of pain.  He had to take out the temp filling and needed to use some freezing...but again, the freezing did not work and I could feel everything.  My dentist is a really nice guy...and seeing that the freezing wasn't working, he took the time to carefully scrape out the filling instead of using the drill.  It took about 2 hours. 

He put in a more solid filling and said to wait until we figure out what's happening.  In the mean time, he did more x-rays of the teeth on the other side that are causing grief, and they look absolutely perfect.  The one tooth that's really causing pain doesn't even have any cavities.  So he is stumped....but he said in dentistry, he comes across about 1 in 2000 people who react like this, so it is uncommon, but not uheard of.

He did say it was weird that the freezing doesn't want to take...

I'm turning into Nancy Drew and I'll report anything my investigative spelunking (spelling?) turns up

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nancy Drew,

Yes spelunking is correct. I can relate to tooth problems. 5 weeks ago I had a tooth filled the filling came out in three days. He put a deeper one in and my tooth absessed in three days. We couldn't save it and he pulled it over a week ago, now I won't heal and the bone is still exposed.

Because freezing does not hold on me and my Tmj, I have to be under sedation. I have lost 11 teeth in less than 5 years it was my dentist who advised that I have the Celiac test done.

[gabby]

Oh my stars! (to quote Samantha Stevens). Have they figured out what's going on? Can they explain why the freezing won't take? Does the celiac have anything to do with it?

I'll keep up my search for answers and post anything I come up with. Actually, I'm having dinner with my dentist and his wife (who is also a dentist!) tonight. He's already told me he has one other patient who has similar problems like mine. Basically with this patient, any time anyone goes near a tooth, say to fix an old filling or even just to do a new small filling, the tooth never heals, and it always ends up in a root canal. And then the root canal doesn't take and the tooth gets pulled. i think this patient lives in Montreal or something, but I'll ask the dentist to give her my number and ask if she'd like to compare notes. It would be very interesting to see if she also has celiac.

One more quick question...do teeth problems run in your family?

thanks again

Nancy Drew

[Rusla]

  gabby said:

Oh my stars! (to quote Samantha Stevens).  Have they figured out what's going on?  Can they explain why the freezing won't take?  Does the celiac have anything to do with it?

I'll keep up my search for answers and post anything I come up with.  Actually, I'm having dinner with my dentist and his wife (who is also a dentist!)  tonight.  He's already told me he has one other patient who has similar problems like mine.  Basically with this  patient, any time anyone goes near a tooth, say to fix an old filling or even just to do a new small filling, the tooth never heals, and it always ends up in a root canal.  And then the root canal doesn't take and the tooth gets pulled.  i think this patient lives in Montreal or something, but I'll ask the dentist to give her my number and ask if she'd like to compare notes.  It would be very interesting to see if she also has celiac.

One more quick question...do teeth problems run in your family? 

thanks again

Nancy Drew

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They said it is more than possible that between the hypothyroidism and the gluten intolernance (which came out like that probably because I did not know I was notsupposed to be gluten free for the test.) they said can have a great deal if not everything to do with this. I have to retake the Celiac test in 3 months. Wheat and dairy is a major problem in my family and even though the teeth are not the best in the family no one has lost the amount I have in such short of time. The only one with the same amount of tooth loss is my 82 year old mother. Up till about 5 years ago I all I had lost were my wisdom tooth but then most of the teeth in the last 10 years, except for two have been root canaled and capped but they are all deteriorating quickly.

My aunt told me that when my grandmother had them she had TB and died when my mother was 4 from tb My aunt had all her teeth out at 14 because the enamel was all gone. Now as my heritage is Italian/Scandinavian which are prone to Celiac.

They don't know if any of the freezing problems have to do with the medical issues at hand. If you find out anything I would be interested in hearing about it anything that will help us solve these problems would be a bonus.

Also scratches and bruises stay around forever on me, which got so much worse after the pernicious anemia episode.

[chatrbug]

have your sinuses checked because they are all upper teeth..i highly suspect sinus infections or stuffed, could be causing hte tooth pain.