Painful mouth, gums, jaw pain- what is it?

[minxabroad]

Hi, about 6 weeks ago I suddenly developed a general soreness in my mouth. My jaw area began aching badly too. In fact the jaw pain has been terrible at times.

The inside of my mouth was very painful and I assumed something had happened that made me suddenly develop numerous cavities at the same time. I know that sounds odd but I could not think of what else could cause such pain all of a sudden.

I used Corsodyl mouthwash but it was not helping and possibly irritating my mouth more so I stopped and made a dental appt. The dentist said she could see nothing wrong in my mouth though she could see "micro cracks" in the enamel. She said this was probably from tooth grinding and said she could see wear that suggested tooth grinding however she was not very forthcoming to answer my other questions and did not seem to investigate anything thoroughly. She recommended a toothguard and a sensitive toothpaste (I used it and it made no difference) and sent me on my way saying there were no cavities etc.

Just as I was walking out of the office she stopped me and said she could do a xray if I wanted- so I said yes. On the xray she found what she described as a very small cavity between 2 teeth. I made an appt to have that sorted out in a weeks time. When she filled that cavity she said that she had discovered some decay beneath an old filling there but that she had sorted it out. I left thinking that my problems would be over now however it just got worse.

The "jaw pain" has been severe. No otc pain meds would help at all. I have had what I assumed to be TMJD very occasionally in the past but nothing like this.

The inside of my mouth is sometimes burning and stinging, sometimes very painful along the edges of the gums along both sides and right at the very back, behind the last teeth. My tongue is burning and is sometimes painful at the back. I have had irritated areas at the sides and the roof of my mouth and behind the last teeth though nothing that has become an ulcer.

I made a gp appt to see if they could shed some light on what is going on but he says he sees nothing and that it is a dentist issue. He also says that where the "jaw" pain is, is not typically where TMJD pain would be, but is farther down and forward, right where the area behind the last teeth would be. he has given me some antibiotics just in case of of a hidden infection somewhere.

I really dont know what to do now. I have made another dental appt, the soonest available, but it is not until January. I am taking co-codamol for the pain but tonight it is not helping.

Any ideas? I do take Levothyroxine for hypothyroidism (just in case anyone knows of any related issue).

[Paulina21]

Hello

I have been suffering strange burning , pressure , feelings in my mouth for over a year .

Like you , decay was found under a filling plus an abscess in crown ..

I was running to dentist non stop for 6/ 8 months !!!

Now left with strange unexplained issues .

It gave me terrible anxiety to start but am slowly getting use to living with it .

Good days and not so good but good days seem to out way bad .Think it's something I just need to except at this moment in time .

Do feel for you as I was in a terrible state mentally when this first started .

Your not alone .

Stay in touch if it helps xxx

[minxabroad in reply to Paulina21]

Hi, thank you for your reply. Do you have any issues with the enamel of your teeth, such as "micro cracks"? Any tooth sensitivity?

When you say you had "pressure", can you elaborate? It may be similar to a symptom I am having also.

I am trying to relax about it but not only am I worried about my teeth ( I don't want to end up with a serious problem) but also the ongoing pain.

[Paulina21 in reply to minxabroad]

Hi

Will try to explain paulina n / sensations ;

Not sure about Micro cracks but my teeth have been problems for years with gum bleeding etc ( some is genetic )

Bleeding kept under control most of time now but visit dentist every 3 months if deep clean .

The pressure feeling is as though my top right teeth feel as though the teeth are being pushed down and feel heavy .

Lower right sensations feel like the teeth are to big for my mouth , some times a burning feeling and sometimes feel like there is a pinching feeling combined with burning feeling .

I use to feel sensations only in lower bottom right and started to have sensations top right that started around Feb this year ..

Feelings come and go during the day , some days more apparent then others .

Dentist can't find any problem with teeth and thinks it is neuropathic ..

I try now to just except it as some sort of condition .

[Paulina21 in reply to Paulina21]

Ps

Thinking about it I prob would have enamel determination and gum shrinkage ..

Have experienced sensitivity xx

[Paulina21 in reply to Paulina21]

I don't have any problems eating or drinking and doesn't bother me at night x

[Paulina21 in reply to Paulina21]

Plus for a few months now I get sudden spells of burning on my face and neck , doesn't last long .

[ingemaria]

Hi, I am really sorry that you are so unwell. A friend of mine is an optometrist and there is a very slight possibility that this pain may be connected with your eyes. It might be an idea to go and see an optometrist. Otherwise, I can only suggest that you keep on going back to your GP and dentist and tell them that you cannot cope with this extreme pain. In this day and age nobody should suffer like this. If they cannot come to a diagnosis they really should refer you to a specialist but it may be up to you to insist on this.

[minxabroad in reply to ingemaria]

Hi ingemaria and thank you for your message. I was at the optometrist about 3 weeks ago. I don't know if that is too long ago to be of help or not?

I will go back to the GP but I am going to have to give these antibiotics a chance before I can go back. I will have to reply on the pain meds until then and of course some mind over matter!

There may be a "walk in clinic" dentist available in town. I am going to look that info up in a few mins though cost is an issue.

I was speaking to a friend today about this and I said that when I looked it up on the internet there were numerous things that should be tested first but I knew that the doctor would not do any of them. It was suggested on dental and health websites that a swab be taken of the mouth and tested, that allergy tests be done and a few other things but the only thing he did, at my suggestion, was to give me a course of antibiotics just in case.

[ingemaria]

Hi, It depends if you had the pain in your jaw then and mentioned it. You could just give your optometrist a call. Yes, of course you need to give the antibiotics a chance. It could of course be a variety of conditions and you are right, wait and see if the antibiotics work and then go back to your GP/dentist. I am not a medical person but when I want to know something I usually go to the NHS website. If the pain is unbearable you might want to phone 111 for advice. I quite understand that the cost of going to a walk-in clinic has to be considered. I do very much hope you'll recover soon. Best wishes.

[AnotherDentist]

Sounds like Burning Mouth Syndrome, ask for an ORal Med referral.

[minxabroad in reply to AnotherDentist]

Thank you. I will do that.

[DCCC_204]

jaw & mouth pain.

[DCCC_204]

go see an Endodontist. A specialist that will more closely examine your teeth & mouth. After my dentist telling me he saw nothing & me saying then I needed a tooth removed on a couple occasions I got referred by my dentist to an endodontist. Thank goodness. He found each of these teeth on opposite sides of my mouth had cracks in the root. This was what caused me pain. I had each removed then had implants done as each was a main chewing molar. Ask to be referred to a specialist.