Dear Dr. Hall,
Last Wednesday I had my upper arch prepared for 4 crowns and the rest of the teeth veneers, and am now in the temporaries. I like the way they look … very natural. But I am very concerned about the terrible jaw pain that I am now having. My dentist suggested that I take Advil. I have been and it does help a lot, but it has been 4 days now and the jaw pain is very bad without the Advil. The aching seems to get worse throughout the day until it feels like my cheeks are a little numb and my back crowns ache as well. I’ve been trying to take Advil as little as possible as I really try to stay away from most meds, but I usually break down and take it around 4 … and then again around 10pm.
If you have any advice, I would appreciate it a lot. Is this normal at 4 days out? I know that it was a lot of trauma to my mouth, but I didn’t experience this with the bottom arch.
My dentist is on vacation and I’m not sure if I should try to see another dentist before she returns in two weeks.
Thank you so much.
– Adrienne from New York
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Adrienne,
I don’t find your pain to be anything unusual, given the extent of what you have been through, and I don’t think another dentist would be able to do anything for you besides tell you to do what your dentist has told you. I wouldn’t be surprised if the pain continued a week or two. It sounds like you have had the second half of a full-mouth reconstruction, which isn’t unlike having major surgery.
To prepare your entire upper arch for crowns and veneers would have required your mouth to be propped open for quite a while, and doing that can provoke the kind of pain you seem to be telling me that you have. There isn’t a lot you can do for that at this point other than taking Advil, maybe applying warm towels to your jaw, and just resting your jaw until it gets better.
If she is gone for two weeks, I imagine she has made arrangements with some other dentist to take care of any emergencies or follow-up care for her. I would wait until it has been a week, and if it isn’t any better, I would pay a visit to that dentist to see if there is anything else that can be done to make you more comfortable. That other dentist may have access to your records or have made some special arrangement with her for follow-up.
– Dr. Hall
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
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