Severe Pain with no explaination???

[cybersiren]

Okay, since I got my braces off on May 8th, I have been to my dentist for a cleaning and new xrays and everything was great. Then a few weeks later after some struggles with getting my positioner fitted just right, I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night with extreme pain in my back molar. I check it out in the mirror and don't see anything alarming, but I notice that the pain seems to be worse around the gumline.. The next morning I call my dentist who happens to be out of town. The secretary refers me to another dentist who is covering for my regular dentist. I go in, he checks everything out, and reassures me that nothing is wrong with my tooth but that he thinks my positioner may be rubbing on my gums again.

He smooths out another rough spot and sends me on my way. By this point the pain is more like a constant severe ache similiar to when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I wear the positioner thinking all is well and am still in pain the next day but not as bad. The dentist gives me one more adjustment and assures me that everything will be fine. That was yesterday and today I am still in severe constant pain, but yet with no visible evidence of any major problem. I have another appointment scheduled for my regular dentist for when he comes back in town on Tuesday, but I fear I may not survive until then. This is so painful and yet so baffling at the same time. I hate not wearing my positioenr because I've had a terrible time of keeping up with it for the past 3 weeks, but I'm dying here.

The dentist said I had no signs of decay, damage, or infection, just a little irritation from the positioner. I'm thinkiing of not wearing it for a day and seeing if the pain goes away. I am so frustrated. I was so sure that after the braces came off that it would be smooth sailing till I got my retainers, but this has caused me more greif in the last 3 weeks than the whole time I had braces. What would you guys do?

[Chris]

If your dentist did a bite adjustment because the molar was hitting too prematurely and that was causing the pain, it may take a week or longer to settle down.

How about grinding your teeth at night? Is that a possibility? Can you wear a nightguard like www.splintek.com along with your positioner?

Also, some times a tooth begins to die but there isn't any "signs" in the xrays or by examination, hence, the dentists just wait and see.

Does the pain get worse when you bite down? May be cracked tooth.
Does it ache mostly at night? (That usually indicates root canal issues)
Cold or Hot sensitivities? Cold is usually because of root exposure at the gum line (use Sensodyne toothpaste). Hot is usually an indicator of the tooth dying.

I wish you well, I know it can be frustrating but dentists that take a wait and see attitude are better than those that just react and do things that may be deemed inappropriate.