Sunday, October 25, 2009

Unable to open mouth more than 1/2 an inch after root canal?

I had a root canal done a week ago today. The root canal tooth is a little sore when chewing on it and around the gumline, which I expect is normal.
What concerns me is that I'm unable to open my mouth more than about half an inch. It's hard to eat and I can barely get a spoon in my mouth without lots of pain. I've been ripping my food into little pieces to fit. The pain seems to stem from the same side as the root canal. I noticed as soon as I had my first novicane injection, about 5-10 minutes later my mouth felt very 'heavy' when trying to open it.This doesn't seem to be getting better from day to day. I'm so frustrated and feeling hopeless. I've been trying not to force it and I've really been babying my jaw. I've been taking the pain meds (800mg of Ibuprofren) not for my tooth, but for my jaw!What's happening? Is this normal? How long will it take to heal? Should I be concerned? Could this be permanent? Nerve damage? Lock Jaw!?
Answer:
Hi My name is Jeffrey M Salerno DDSIt is common to have pain in the jaw after a procedure where your mouth is opened for extended periods of time. If the Root canal was on a lower tooth than the injection has to penetrate tissue of the oral mucosa, connective tissue and muscle tissue before the anesthetic is deposited near the nerve. This commonly cause some pain and tenderness in opening and closing of the jaw. But it usually subsides and will gradually improve over time.I suggest using warm salt water rinses in that area( the warm water brings blood into the area which helps repair the damage). Use a heating pad on that side of your face. Continue with Motrin 800mg ( no more that 1 every 6 hrs). If it does not improve give your dentist a call.
You can have an infection so You need to go to the dentist. Just walk in and show them. Don't bother calling because they will make you get an appointment.
I have had four root canals and hadn't had this happen to me before until the last one I had about 2 months ago. I went for a whole 2 weeks without being able to open my mouth. One day I was eating and simply forgot about babying it and just opened my mouth to put the fork in and my jaw popped. It was very loud and it hurt so bad it made me dizzy. After the pain of it subsided however, I was able to open my mouth normally. It was very weird and like I said, out of the 4, it has only happened once, so I'm not sure if most people go through this and I got lucky the first 3 ;). I would make an appt and try to find out what happened. I didn't do that myself because my dentist is 4 hours away, so I just dealt with it. I did call them and tell them and the receptionist told me I would have to make an appt, so you might be better off just walking in and showing them. Good luck, I know how it hurts.
It sounds like your TMJ or the muscles going to it have been overworked or during the injections the nerve was injured. It isn't normal for this to happen, but it does happen. When giving an injection it is impossible to tell exactly what you are hitting. Nerves do get traumatized, but usually it is temporary. Some anesthetic is too strong for certain areas of the mouth and shouldn't be used. The nerve can be damaged and it could take several weeks to repair. My first advice to you would be to call your dentist and ask his/her advice. I would recommend that you place hot towels on your jaw and cheek muscles, take anti inflammatory medication regularly for several days, massage your jaw joint and down your cheek. Don't force your mouth open it could get locked and that is very painful. To be honest I'm not sure if its your muscles in a spasm or a nerve trauma. It should be temporary either way, but just not sure of what time frame to say.
You probably are a person who clenches your teeth or grinds them at night. Your muscles are tight from this daily routine and then having your jaw open for a long period of time would really make it overworked. Call your dentist...

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