Pain in one tooth when biting down - help!

[Em1]

Eek ok, first post, here goes!

I got my braces (fixed ceramic uppers - lowers going on at a later date) about a month ago. I’m quite nervous with dentists/orthodontists so my ortho is deliberately going slowly.

He put on my brackets, with a super thin wire, without yet attaching my more troublesome teeth (which won’t move much until I get my extractions), just so I could get used to having them on. He booked me in for an appointment 2 weeks later to see how it was going.

Anyway, almost straight away, I started having a weird sensation in one of my teeth (a 2nd premolar). The only way I can explain it is that every time I bit down - like, even just to close my mouth properly - I could feel pressure inside the tooth and like all the way into the root. It wasn’t ‘pain’ as such, but a really unpleasant sensation that I’d only ever had in the past with a really big tooth infection, and it meant I never ever wanted to close my mouth.

Obviously I was prepared for there to be a bit of discomfort so I took painkillers and expected it to go away. When it didn’t after 5 days, I called up and went in for an ‘emergency’ appointment.

My ortho took a look at it, and said it was totally normal as there did look like there was a bit of tension and maybe I was just super sensitive (weird, as I usually have a pretty high pain threshold). He released the tension ‘completely’, and said it should now go back to normal.

It did go pretty much back to normal within a couple of days, which I was pleased about, having convinced myself that something was super wrong, and he left it exactly the same at my 2 week appointment, just changing the bands on my other teeth.

But it never went 100% back to normal - like I can now eat soft food on it without feeling anything, but as soon as I bite on anything harder than like...soft pasta... I can feel a bit of pressure and am very aware that this one tooth feels different to the rest. It’s nothing like the first week, it doesn’t bother me unless im chewing, but I can’t help but wonder if this is normal. I don’t have a similar feeling on any of the other teeth. This one also makes an annoying tiny click noise if I press on it.

And I’m basically freaking out... Has anyone had a similar experience, or any advice?

Thank you!!

[djspeece]

I think most of us have had that experience -- sometimes the pain is fleeting, sometimes dull, sometimes sharp, different teeth...you name it. Pain threshold really has little to do with it, in my opinion. These pains are new to you, and their meaning is unclear -- since most of us associate pain with something gone wrong, when in fact that is not usually the case with braces. But new pain is bothersome, especially when we don't know the meaning of it. Some people report a "clicking" sound as their teeth gain increased mobility -- meaning they are a bit loose, which also can be unnerving, but again something to be expected. I mentioned in another thread that if orthodontists told their patients everything that they could expect while in braces, no one would get braces! Best of luck to you!

[eniamrehc]

Everything that djspeece wrote!

I’ve got that one extra sensitive premolar that hurts even with slight pressure and is also shaky. The pain and shakiness are usually more pronounced right after an adjustment, up till almost two weeks, and then it gets better (and then it’s time for the next adjustment again!).

There are also the random aches and pains on different teeth/ parts of gum on different days. It was indeed rather unnerving for me initially, and I saw my orthodontist quite a bit in the first few of weeks of getting my braces on, but was reassured that everything was fine.

Hope things go well for you!

[ShiningCity]

So how long has this been going on?

[Bracefacemom47]

Yep. I know what you're talking about. Mine went away.
It's so strange how there's something new a they teeth change positions. My teeth area moving like they ata loose and it's a bit unnerving but normal.

[Em1]

Thanks everyone :)

Bracefacemom47 - How long did your weird feeling like this take to go away?

I'm now at week 7 and it's still there, the pressure when I bite down on this one tooth. It's not like other teeth that comes and goes, it's always like that...

I went to the ortho yesterday and he (frustratingly) didn't even look and just told me "it's normal" which didn't convince me a lot... and now he's booked me in for my extractions. I'm panicking slightly that he'll remove the other bicuspid and then discover that there really is something wrong with this one, but he's one of those old-school orthodontists who really don't like having their opinions put up for discussion so I guess I have to just go with it and hope for the best :(

[Bracefacemom47]

Mine were because of the molar bite blocks. I just got them built up ahain the other day so here we go again. Ow

If it's lasting this long for you and the ortho doesn't care then I'd suggest going to your dentist and asking for an xray and opinion.

And change orthos if you can. Do you really need the extractions? I hear of so many extractions or jaw surgeries I don't don't get it. Makes me wonder if they just want the money.

[Em1]

Oh I see.. I don't have bite blocks or anything so it's definitely not that :(

I've just booked an appointment with another dentist the day before I'm supposed to get my first extraction hoping that he can take a good look and reassure me that everything's ok.

I definitely do need extractions - I have really wide teeth and a mouth which is simply too small for them all. It's not a case of just a bit of overcrowding, they're all on top of each other with nowhere to go. Obviously I'd have preferred not to yank out healthy teeth, but I've heard a few opinions and it's the only way. But thanks for your concern :)

[Bracefacemom47]

Good. Please update after your dentist appt

[pcspinheiro]

I have a lower premolar that was heavily tilted forward and after uprighting it always feels tender/sensitive and a little loose. I've asked my otho about this a lot, but I'm told it's normal (although she did lie to me before regarding other matters...)

[Em1]

A little update for you all, with an unexpected twist to keep you entertained.

So I went to the other dentist yesterday to get that tooth checked out. He didn't do any x-rays but tapped around and had a look at how the braces were on and told me he's pretty confident that the tooth is fine and this is all just a result of pressure. Cool, great.

He then starts saying that he's personally of the non-extraction school, and would like to take a look at my x-rays etc to understand if it'd be possible to go down that route because it does look a bit borderline, and finished by saying that if I wanted a consult he'd be happy to organise it quickly.

But at this point I do still trust MY ortho, so I'm cool about the extractions.

So off I go to the dentist that the ortho works with to get my first premolar out... I've never met this guy before but he's young and kind and everything. Anyway he pokes around a bit, and then looks at my x-ray, and then at the mould of my teeth, and then says that he wants to talk to the ortho because he wants to be sure that these particular extractions are necessary, because he'd personally have done this in another way (so sounds like he's also of the non-extraction school).

So I basically took time off work and spent hours feeling super anxious to then be told that nothing would be done today and that I need to come back next week.

Considering this is now the third time that I've gone to the office to get something done and ended up making NO progress because someone hasn't spoken to someone else, or someone is waiting for something to arrive, or whatever, I'm now going back to the OTHER office tomorrow to get a consult with THAT dentist's ortho, to potentially change to someone who will be a bit more organised about the whole thing.

I'll keep you all updated!

[Bracefacemom47]

How'd it go?

[yogurtyoga]

Do you still have pain? I have the same condition.

[Em1]

Just to update you all...

The tooth that was hurting just... stopped hurting... from one day to the next. So that's great!

About the premolar extractions - my dentist doesn't seem to love my ortho or his methods, so the dentist has asked a colleague of his (another ortho) to jump in on my case instead. Together, they've decided to whip out my wisdom teeth first (I'd previously been told by my old dentist that this was too risky due to nerve proximity, but the new one has reassured me it'll be fine), and after that they'll decide if it's still necessary to extract the premolars - it may well still be necessary, but they might try a different approach before deciding.

So next week out come the first 2 wisdom teeth, and we'll go from there.

The good news is that despite all these unexpected changes of plan, I'm actually feeling quite relaxed. So hopefully it'll all be fine!

[Bracefacemom47]

Good!! That sounds like a better plan. Glad they are working together and you got a new team