Anyone have toothaches after AN surgery?

[swhite]

I am so frustrated.  Anyone a dentist?  I am 8 weeks post-op and have had two have two molars extracted and one root canal (all on the same side of my right face with paralysis).  As anyone encountered anything remotely close to this?  It could be purely coincidental that all this occurred after my AN surgery 8-27-09, but I just wonder if it my AN surgery had anything to do with it.  My doctors say no.  I'm also doing e-stem during my speech therapy, so now my therapist is concerned the e-stem is triggering these unfortunate events in my teeth.  I happened to have gum surgery back in March and things were just becoming more painful late July when I ended up in the hospital at the end of August having my AN removed suddenly.  Come to find out the surgery back in March didn't work and they became absessed right after surgery and since I couldn't feel these back molars, due to my paralysis, they were beyond infection and beyond being saved, so they had to be extracted.  As for my root canal had to have done today, I was told, too, back in March, that this tooth was dead and probably would need a root canal at some future point.  I didn't realize this was all going to happen at one time.   

[yardtick]

Hi,

Coincidence, I don't know, but the same thing happened to me three years ago.  Gosh it was a terrible time for me.  I have never liked going to the dentist.  My dentist has been so gentle because of my facial neuroma.  My upper molars to this day still bother me.  To me it feels like I have had the dental work done and the thawing is at the half way point.  Does that make any sense to you? 

Anne Marie

[faith42]

HEY,

I FOUND THIS AND TOUGHT IT MAY BE HELPFUL. BECAUSE SALIVA GLANDS ARE PARALYZED TOO, IT DOES CAUSE A PROBLEM. IF YOU ASK YOUR DENTIST THEY USUALLY HAVE SAMPLES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF MOUTH WASHES FOR DRY MOUTH ON HAND AND YOU CAN TRY TO SEE WHICH ONE WORKS WELL FOR YOU BEFORE YOU GO AND BUY. SOME ARE PRESCRIPTIONS WHICH YOUR INS. SHOULD PAY FOR. BIOTENE IS ONE THAT WORKED FOR ME, BUT OF COURSE EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!

I WISH YOU WELL!!!
TAMMI


 
Saturday, 30 May 2009After an Acoustic Neuroma Remember Your Teeth
 



The health of your teeth is not something you think about after the surgical removal of an Acoustic Neuroma - well I didn't.

The facial paralysis on the right side of my face means that it is very hard to chew on that side, therefore by far the most work is done on the left side. That means that the teeth on the that side have been exposed to twice the wear and tear as they would have been if I had no paralysis.

This extra wear and tear, and the lack of saliva, has resulted in the teeth on the left side wearing out quicker than normal. As a result I have just had a bridge fitted on the upper left side !!

The teeth on the right side are not wearing out due to work, but are deterioating because of a lack of saliva. It just goes on and on.

[ppearl214]

Hi Tammi and thanks for sharing. Please site where you found this info. As we can see, it is of someone else's experience (not medical related annals by Dr's, etc)  and we like to be able to know the source of info found elsewhere.  

thanks for the tidbit on this.
Phyl

HEY,

I FOUND THIS AND TOUGHT IT MAY BE HELPFUL. BECAUSE SALIVA GLANDS ARE PARALYZED TOO, IT DOES CAUSE A PROBLEM. IF YOU ASK YOUR DENTIST THEY USUALLY HAVE SAMPLES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF MOUTH WASHES FOR DRY MOUTH ON HAND AND YOU CAN TRY TO SEE WHICH ONE WORKS WELL FOR YOU BEFORE YOU GO AND BUY. SOME ARE PRESCRIPTIONS WHICH YOUR INS. SHOULD PAY FOR. BIOTENE IS ONE THAT WORKED FOR ME, BUT OF COURSE EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!

I WISH YOU WELL!!!
TAMMI


 
Saturday, 30 May 2009After an Acoustic Neuroma Remember Your Teeth
 



The health of your teeth is not something you think about after the surgical removal of an Acoustic Neuroma - well I didn't.

The facial paralysis on the right side of my face means that it is very hard to chew on that side, therefore by far the most work is done on the left side. That means that the teeth on the that side have been exposed to twice the wear and tear as they would have been if I had no paralysis.

This extra wear and tear, and the lack of saliva, has resulted in the teeth on the left side wearing out quicker than normal. As a result I have just had a bridge fitted on the upper left side !!

The teeth on the right side are not wearing out due to work, but are deterioating because of a lack of saliva. It just goes on and on.

[Debbi]

interesting...

I had some dental problems on my AN side, too, but hard to say if they were coincidental or not.  One thing that I was told by my dentist is that lack of salivation and subsequent dry mouth causes the healthy bacteria in your mouth not to work properly, which can lead to tooth decay.  I'll have to see if I can find some validation on this somewhere.  I still don't produce much saliva on my AN side, and do frequently get a very dry mouth.  Sucking on hard candy helps - but I suppose the sugar in the candy probably doesn't help!  Heck - if only I could find some validatoin that chocolate would help ...  If you are able to chew gum (sugarless), that might help - but if you have TMJ, you have to steer clear of the gum totally.

Hm, more to ponder...

Debbi

[OTO]

Yes.  It all has to do with stress or damage to the facial nerve.  In the first 12 months post-op,  I had a sore tongue (felt burnt and then it felt like I bit that side).   I had the metallic taste... then a salty taste...   And toothaches.     I have regularly scheduled dental checkups every 6 months (for other issues), and my dentist said nothing was wrong... so it probably all had to do with stress to the facial nerve.    I used different mouthwashes to try and keep my mouth moist.    Now all I have is a little bit of a salty tasting spot on that side of the mouth.   

[HeadCase2]

  Other posters have mentioned saliva production as a potential issue, which others have mentioned on this forum.  Is it possible that you're grinding your teeth on that side at night without knowing it?  Tell your dentist about your concerns, and if they don't understand or can't come up with a new approach, perhaps a second opinion would be warrented.
Regards,
  Rob

[Rc Moser]

Yes,  it's not uncommon for us AN'er's to have tooth aches. Especially if you have trigeminal nerve (TN) problems. The TN is responsible for all pain in the face, jaw forhead, side of the head and Teeth. I have TN problems, one of the first tell tell signs of a pre-migraine for me are my teeth ache, all of them but not at once. I too thought I had denial problems 6 years later and prestine teeth the pain persists.  IMO and experience with migraine the TN is the trigger, at least for me it is. When it starts firing My teeth ache, pain across my forhead, noise and light sensitive, AN ear buzzing louder than normal, and my hair starts to hurt.  

Trigeminal nerve is the bad boy.  People have pullled all there teeth trying to releave the pain and they still had tooth aches. Goggle it, I guarantee you will be shocked and fine you may have some of the 5th nerve problems....

[swhite]

Thank  you all for your responses.  It's been some time since I made this post and still have facial paralysis on right side and dry mouth.  Biotene products work for me and my sister is a dental hygeniest, so she has been a great resource too.  I plan to see my regular dentist after the first of the year when my dental benefits renew and finish the root canal that was started in October.  I'm sure nerve #5 has been affected.  All my teeth on the right side of my face ache sometimes, nothing that Tylenol doesn't help.