Can tooth pain be part of TMS?

It comes and goes, but I have been having pain in a tooth. Dentist told me theres nothing there, but when I floss it hurts. I'm thinking of searching for another dentist because it really hurts especially when I eat.

 

I’ve had something similar and it wasn’t until an endo did a 3d scan did he find something. And I’m not suggesting you go to an endo at this juncture. Based on what mine found I had a tooth pulled and I’m getting an implant. The area is almost entirely healed and I still occasionally get pain. Even though I have no nerves there!

Between my dentest, endo, and perio I could put a good down payment on a new home! A former dentist told me we have thousands of nerves in our face. And you’ve probably heard of referral pain - Pain emanating from one spot but you feel it in another.

So this is my suggestion, and it is only my opinion but if I were in your shoes, unless the pain is excruciating I would drop it for now. If you have a bad root, abscess, or other problem it will rear it’s head in a more obvious and consistent way. Look hard enough and they will find something. I have no doubt my endo saw what he saw, but I don’t think it was the source of my pain.

That’s my two cents. All that being said you may still be more comfortable getting a second opinion. Just don’t rush into some kind of treatment until you see proof that makes sense to you.

 

By all means get a second opinion, but my suggestion is perhaps to try going gentle on your teeth for a while with a really soft but good toothbrush and use some smooth floss that slides and glides really easily between your teeth. During the long lockdown due to covid when all the dentists were shut, I developed a painful area on one of my molars. I bought and used (and continue to use) these curaprox toothbrushes for sensitive teeth https://www.amazon.com/Curaprox-5460-Ultrasoft-Toothbrush-Pack/dp/B004W6PAJE/ref=sr_1_42?crid=3FPATA640SFTT&keywords=soft+toothbrushes+for+adults&qid=1651012422&sprefix=soft+tooth,aps,143&sr=8-42 and this dental floss https://www.amazon.co.uk/Colgate-Total-Pro-Health-Floss/dp/B011ICLBBU/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1FZSZYZ88MINV&keywords=colgate+floss&qid=1651012871&sprefix=colgate+floss,aps,70&sr=8-6 and very gradually the pain disappeared. I believe tooth pain can be TMS; I'm not sure whether mine was or not, or whether the sensitivity was due to thinning enamel that I've read (but don't know if it's true can become desensitized with gentler treatment)...A number of years ago though I had tooth pain that a couple of dentists and specialist at a dental hospital couldn't put down to anything sinister going on...and that pain also extremely gradually diminished and then went away altogether, so I believe that was definitely TMS.

 

Can be TMS. It happened to me. Also could be that clench in your sleep and shows up as pain during the day. Teeth clenching due to TMS.

There is no scientific evidence that flossing works as reported by AP.

You can also follow this protocol by Ellie Phillips, DDS. It’s quite effective in treating tooth and gum issues. She also does not recommend flossing.
https://www.fredamir.com/single-post/2019/09/28/Save-Your-Teeth-And-Gums

 

Yes, tooth pain can definitely be TMS. I had severe tooth pain along with facial pain (every tooth in my mouth ached). I would also have shooting nerve pain in my teeth. It all went away eventually. Maybe try a water-pik style flosser instead of string floss. There’s also a great product that numbs your tooth. I can’t remember the name but it comes in a little bottle with tiny q-tip things and you can paint it on the tooth that hurts for temporary relief.

 

Yes, definitely. I had pain all along my upper left teeth. Dentist checked all the teeth and couldn't find anything. I thought he must be a quack because it was getting pretty painful. Enough to wake me up in the middle of the night. Although at first I thought he must be wrong, I guess my brain heard him and after a few more days or a week it went away.

 

Of course tooth pain could be TMS !!!!

Any pain could be TMS, specially if it is chronic or persistent.
Pain is always a protective message («beware! DANGER!!!!») coming from the brain.
In the case of TMS pain (no injury, damage or illness in the horizon!) that protection takes the form of distraction (from «incorrect» emotions stored in the unconscious, mainly anger/rage).

 

I discovered TMS last year and began implementing a MindBody approach in August with great success. All pain was very low. In October, I bought myself and my husband new powered toothbrushes. I was so excited. I used it for 3 days with no problems. Then on day 4, I felt a severe pain. My first thought was "TMS". The next day, nothing. The next, BOOM! So, I had to condition myself to using it over a period of 2-3 weeks. I have not felt that sensation since. I actually laughed at myself! If you have had diagnostics with no issues, I would lean towards TMS.

 

I've opened up to my dentist (and dental hygienist) about my TMS issues. Being able to talk to them about it has changed everything (at least related to tooth pain).

I started a conversation with my dentist (and hygienist) about stress/emotions and how I have a hard time and pain is often a distraction for me. My dentist developed this confident way of looking me in the eye and saying, "There is nothing wrong with that tooth. You are totally fine." And, I trust him fully. I leave and the pain goes away.

I've reported tooth pain that turns out to be nothing so many times. However, I'm on a great run now and these instances have reduced considerably. But, I also don't worry about them like I used to.

When I'm feeling pain and he tells me there's nothing wrong, I remind him of my history. He laughs and tells me again that I'm going to be fine. He'll sometimes talk about reducing stress or not paying such close attention to every last tooth issue. Sometimes we can joke together like, "You've got patients with real problems to deal with....what are you doing in here with me?"
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It is always good to get checked out though. One time, the pain was not TMS-related. A very small piece of a peanut got caught deep in an awkward place between two teeth along the gum line. Flossing aggravated it. He had a hard time getting it out and said it was important that he did. I told him I was taking credit and wanted that in my chart...that I actually logged a real pain issue!!

 

I just deleted the FIFTH spam post on this thread. They love to use older threads on topics they think they can sound knowledgeable about without actually having a clue what we do here. Dental threads are popular targets!

If you see a post from a newcomer that seems weirdly generic and bland, feel free to hit "Report" so it can be monitored. No harm if it turns out to be legit. The weird thing is that they will come back a few hours to a few days later and edit the post to add a link, which is when we boot them.

Normally I would shut down an old thread that was receiving this amount of spam, but it received some good posts recently (although the first was in response to a spammer who revived the thread a couple of weeks ago after a year of inactivity )

Just an FYI...