Hi All
I’m based in the UK. About 2 weeks ago I started (all of a sudden), getting a pain in my lower left jaw (mid way). The pain is like a dull ache, feels like it’s coming from beneath my teeth, but it’s not painful to bite down, once the pain starts it gives me like a muzzy headache. The pain ranges from 0 to 5 (with 10 being the most pain and 0 being lowest), it’s slightly distressing pain, but can go to work etc. Paracetamol helps the headache and take the edge of the jaw pain, but doesn’t make it go away.
I wear a night guard, as I think I grind my teeth, though never mentioned this to my dentist. I have noticed that when I do bite my lower left molar (root filled) and the tooth in front (crowned, not root filled), gets first contact on my bite, before my right side, the pain is coming from under that left teeth area (I got a wisdom tooth on that side), I am wondering if grinding is causing the teeth stress. I strangely find driving my car and excessive talking can set it off, once the dull ache appears it can linger for a while before sometimes going. I had a dentist check up, out about 8 weeks ago, all ok, though if the nerve in a tooth was an issue without x rays would it be difficult to physically spot?
Last year (almost to the day), I started getting headaches, I felt faint went to A&E hospital, they ran tests (CT scan / MRI) thinking I had a stroke, tests came back all clear and hospital Doctor reckoned it was Trigeminal neuralgia, they put me on Tegretol (100mg), after 3 weeks I broke out in hives, so I halted the medication, the headaches never came back, by that time I had a Neurologist appointment they said see how you go, I carried on as usual, which was all ok, until now.
If I want to pursue diagnosis, as it’s not naturally going away. What would the right approach be, go to the dentist for x-rays, failing that get referred for a jaw scan, can UK dentist refer you for that, or would I get bounced back to the GP, because it doesn’t feel like normal toothache.
Thanks for reading