Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey fellow bracefaces,

I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with my current situation: I've had braces for about four months now and I've seen a LOT of movement (yippee!) One of the major changes has been my left canine tooth that was raised, but I got the tooth behind it extracted and now it has come down quite a bit, especially in the last month. However during this time I noticed that that tooth has become especially sensitive to hot and cold (a deep inhale - even indoors - is enough to make it throb) and it also may have changed colour slightly...it's so slight I barely tell but I think it may be a bit more grey-ish than usual (could be general paranoia though). My ortho noticed this at my adjustment yesterday and said that the nerve could be damaged, but this sensitivity could also just be normal as moving teeth are often uber-sensitive to temperature.

Has anyone ever experienced this or any tooth-nerve problems during your braces adventure? It would be nice to know that me and my crazy tooth are not alone...

You and your tooth are not alone

Sensitivity can be normal of course but with the discoloring the tooth very well could be starting to abscess. Sens to heat is generally not a great sign either (more likley to be 'ok' with cold sens)

Many things can cause the nerve of the tooth to 'die'
Deep cavities, trauma, etc.
Preparing a tooth for a cavity fill is a trauma. The effects are cumulative so every time a tooth is filled or hit the trauma can add up. Orthodontic movement can be the final trauma -- the straw that broke the camels back so to speak - that causes the final 'death' of the nerve causing pain and discoloration. When this happens root canal is generally the next step.

I always seem to have one or two teeth that are more sensitive than they used to be at any given time. Then they settle down and the archwire 'attacks' some other teeth instead. It's sort of the like the ebb and flow of the tide. It's just 'one of those braces things' you learn to live with after a while. I find Advil for a day or so generally works very well.