Teeth Hurt but Dentists Say Nothing is Wrong

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Jan 29, 2019
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I have had pain on my lower teeth on my left side for the past month. Specifically it's teeth numbers 20 and 21. It's a dull pain and I wake up and worry about it every day. I have seen TWO dentists who have both said nothing is wrong and have performed every test imaginable to see if they can find anything wrong with them. They even did an official check-up to see if it was referred pain, but nothing. Sometimes the pain will shift to my molars, and other times to my bottom anteriors. They thought maybe it was grinding or clenching, and they grinded them down, but they still hurt. I am on Clinpro 5000 toothpaste as well as MI paste, and I feel like I am going insane. I have seen an endodontist, and nothing. They are sensitive to hot, cold, and sweet foods. I do have depression and anxiety, and I have been messing with them all month long. I keep pushing them with my tongue and tapping on them, to test their sensitivity. It's hard to sleep without thinking about them, and I keep convincing myself that I'll have this pain for forever.

How can I stop thinking about my teeth? If three dentists have told me there is nothing wrong, how can I convince myself to stop messing with them? Is there any reason why they could still be hurting?
 

honestdoc

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I agree with the previous dentists that you may be grinding and or clenching your teeth unknowingly. According to experts, your teeth touch only 20 minutes a day including all meals and function. Grinding and clenching could easily exceed 20 minutes of teeth contact per day and can cause pain & damage to you jaws, TMJ, and teeth. I recommend a custom night guard that is hard on the outside and soft on the inside to accommodate you teeth. I even recommend you use it during the day in addition to night use if you don't have to communicate like in meetings, etc. I had a similar problem and it took about 5 years for my pain to subside. I believe you may have unresolved stress in addition to anxiety. Hopefully you can manage it or get professional help because it can destroy you.

Sweet sensitivity may mean you have exposed dentin or roots. In addition to grinding which may cause cervical abfraction damage, you may be brushing too hard and traumatizing your gums causing gum recession. Your dentists would have detected gum recession. The Clinpro 5000 as well as MI paste could help with sweet & cold sensitivy by helping the exposed areas remineralize. This won't happen overnight and will take about 2 months of constant use.
 

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MattKW

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If your pain is there almost continually, a faint possibility is ask for a long-lasting block LA (bupivacaine or ropivacaine) to see if that stops the pain. If it does, then I'd go for the same LA around the premolars, and finally the anteriors to move towards the front. It's a rough method and not always accurate, but it might narrow it down. In the past 2 years I've had 2 patients with imperceptible cracks in perfectly good teeth (a 15 and a 30) that were hard to narrow down.
If the LA doesn't work at all, then it might be time for a neurologist, and possibly a psychiatrist for the anxiety that might be contributing to your pain perception.
 
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