Face pain after dental fillings

[danders]

I went to the dentist about a month ago for 4 fillings to be done. 2 on the upper left, 1 lower left, 1 lower right. They used novacaine but I still felt the farthest back upper left molar being worked on, the rest of the fillings didn’t hurt. The whole procedure took a hour and a half, with no breaks. Driving home. Once the novacaine wore off, the cheek pain began, it became worse a couple days later. I have had no pain in my gums or teeth, but the teeth on the left side of my face are sensitive to ice water. My face pain is almost unbearable, it moves from my cheekbone to temple and sometimes above my temple. 2 weeks after, I had my bite adjusted because it was off. When the pain becomes very bad, I have muscle spasms around my ear. At one point, when I would move my eyes right, I would feel pain in the upper left side of my head. I just went to the dentist after 4 weeks and she cold tested my teeth. The upper left farthest back molar that was filled was very sensitive to the cold, but went away within 10 seconds. The dentist recommended a root canal or extraction of the tooth. I don’t know what to think of this. I have no physical pain in my mouth except for sensitivity to ice water on the left side. Hot drink or food has no sensitivity. I have a history of TMJ and a few days ago I tried some jaw exercises and it made the pain much worse the next day. I don’t know if my facial pain is from TMJ symptoms or from nerve irritation from the fillings. I can’t afford a root canal and I don’t want to lose my tooth. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[SarahR]

This is a bit late so don’t know if it’s relevant… I’m not a dentist but I sympathise. I had a back filling replaced last year and when the dentist asked beforehand if the area was numb I said no and he said “that’ll do”… It was excruciating and I kept hoping the pain would lessen throughout. It didn’t.
It was horrific and I had a lot of face, jaw and teeth pain afterwards.
I had several craniosacral treatments, the filling filed down three times and eventually things went back to normal. I’ve just had another bad experience with the hygienist…
I think four fillings is a lot in one go and one and a half hours is a very long time to have your mouth open when you have TMJ issues.
I would definitely get a second opinion before having any work done. Maybe try some sort of facial therapy and see if things calm down