Tooth issue for 18 months... TMS?

I've had so much success with TMS work in the past, I've completely healed my debilitating back pain and bilateral sciatica. However, for the past 18 months I have had terrible trouble with my teeth and could easily say that I've had chronic pain/issues with it and I wanted to seek out some opinions because I'm finally coming around to the fact that it might be TMS.

At the beginning of 2020, I was getting some pain in my very back bottom tooth. I was told I needed a root canal, and being naive I didn't understand the importance of my teeth and figured I'd get it removed. It was honestly traumatic, hearing the crunching sound and I almost felt grief for losing that tooth. I also have a lot of fear around teeth because my mum lost all of hers around 50. The following week I got a filling done on my top tooth, and after that it felt like my bite was off and it was painful with chewing.

I have had an incredible amount done on this tooth. My bite was adjusted multiple times, I got my top wisdom tooth out on that side, the filling has been redone, I tried a metal band on it. I went to an endontist and she told me she thought it was stress and pressure from clenching my teeth. My dentist believes it is cracked, but the crack is tiny at the root of the tooth so it isn't visible. I've gotten a root canal and a cap put on it, so it doesn't even have the nerve anymore and it still hurts. Now I've been trying a mouth guard for the past few months because I also have a clenching/grinding problem.

My main symptoms are pain when biting something firmer and sometimes random pain, and now my bottom tooth below it can also hurt when biting sometimes as well and I'm afraid that might be cracked too. This tooth has made me miserable. I'm so afraid of losing even more teeth at my age (26) and the implications for my future. I'm obsessing over my teeth and even my dentist has told me I'm overthinking it and making it worse.

My dentist has taken a very conservative route, and I was tempted to just get it taken out. After reading some other posts on here and learning about phantom bite, I'm considering if this is yet another TMS chronic issue. I'd love some insight or experiences from others. Thanks!

 

Well done to your tms success in the past.
I can tell you I treated dental issues using the tms paradigm.
At the beginning of lockdown in 2020 my gums became mottled and certain teeth hurt. I managed to get to see a dentist. She asked me what was going on in my life. My neighbour/friend had died of covid. This was at the beginning of the pandemic when fear was everywhere. My dentist assured me it was psychosomatic in my mouth. So I knew what to do.
I hope that helps in some small way.

 

How interesting that your dentist actually knew it straight away. I wonder if they're seeing it more during this time. My dentist has suggested that me stressing out about it is making things worse, and the endontist and her think this tooth is sore because of stress but they're more relating that to clenching. I wonder if more dental issues are TMS than any of us realise. I mean, we claim that strange things on scans in the back or shoulder are "normal abnormalities", but not for teeth. Makes you wonder. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

I can SO relate to your issues. But the good news is that it is most definitely TMS. There are several members on here who have had TMS manifest in their teeth. I had dental implants put, taken out, put back in and taken back out. I had pain in most of my teeth (random and varying) and all told, I have lost four teeth and spent over 10k dollars and now I wear a partial denture. I also lost 30 pounds from the ordeal and it was truly TMS. I do use a stop snoring device now (because I too am a tooth grinder and clincher) because I am trying my best not to lose any more teeth to TMS. You are right when you say that your teeth are important and you are so young. But do know that even our dear Dr. Sarno had tooth pain that turned out to be TMS. I also know @plum and @Baseball65 have both had TMS manifested in their teeth! You are not alone!!!!

 

I've had a very similar experience. At the beginning of the pandemic my upper left teeth were so sensitive that I avoid biting or chewing on that side or even letting hot or cold foods or liquids touch that side. It seemed to be coming from a tooth that had been root canaled a few years ago, but that didn't make sense because no nerve! I didn't go to the dentist because I didn't feel it was safe (Covid) and because I hate dentists. It went away.

 

Thank you so much for your response and your confidence that it's TMS! So you think your issues all along were TMS? Would you advise not getting mine out then that are bothering me? Because that seems to be next steps.

 

Wow it just went away! I honestly think mine are getting worse and manifesting more pain because I am so incredibly fixated on them. Suddenly my right side (my "good" side!) is hurting too. It's almost like I'm realising it could be TMS and it's trying to scare me further because I'm catching onto the distraction.

 

Hello my dear,

I’ve just come from a dental appointment so I thought I’d pop on here to share my experience and thoughts. For the last 10 weeks I’ve been having dreadful TMS on the good side of my mouth, pain for sure but mostly epic freak out about what was wrong (even TMS veterans can get snagged when TMS is in its A game).

Long story short, all is ok bar a tiny spot where there is a bit of a gum problem which I’m seeing the hygienist for in a few days. But here’s the thing, the problem is not in the same place as the pain and weird sensations. There is nothing wrong with the area that has worried me. My dentist is an absolute angel and she knows I clench and hold stress in my mouth and she reckons it’s just that aka TMS.

I’ve been very worried about it for weeks but couldn’t get an appointment before now so in the intervening time I went through some moments of sheer panic, and I know better because I know TMS so well, but still I was focusing on it and freaking out… and it’s this obsession that is the TMS. Once you let it go, relax and stop driving yourself insane it goes away. Invariably I need to see someone at this point because I need the reassurance.

Remember that TMS is a distraction, it’s an obsessive focus on something that feels unsafe in lieu of facing the stresses and emotions of life. Always look to what is happening in your world and resolve these. So for me, it’s been a bereavement (mother-in-law), a house clearance, I’m in the process of moving house, caring for my husband who has Parkinson’s, my mum has been diagnosed with dementia, my brother-in-law has been moved to a new nursing home that specialises in late stage dementia and my other brother-in-law has a terminal diagnosis. That kinda stress would floor anyone, but it’s the TMS that has driven me almost loopy, as I’m “coping” with all else.

My advice to you is deal with any and all stress and tension, particularly anything concerning relationships, as that’s the main playground for TMS. With time you should see the dental matters resolve if you do this. If you do (or have had) dental work, do still address the emotional problems because TMS can pop up somewhere else (the symptom imperative) and who needs that

Hope this helps.

 

I would definitely wait until things have calmed down a bit and making sure that you really need to have the teeth taken out that are bothering you!

 

@unknownnicole

sweetheart, have a look at My Story and particularly the mention of Weston Price. Teeth and gums can be healed (remineralise and grow back respectively) through a few dietary changes. I’ve done this a couple of times. I have no cavities and no fillings at all. It’s really worth exploring if you are worried about your dental health.

 

Oh my gosh Nicole! I feel like we need to talk as I feel like I am about 3-4 years ahead of you on this tooth/mouth pain journey!

Just a little bit of detail from me…. I started having pain in a tooth (#30) on the lower right side after filling a cavity. The pain spread shortly thereafter to include multiple teeth on my right side. And then….my teeth on the left side started hurting too! I saw numerous dentists, an endontist, a dentist regarding possible braces(I thought my bite was off), family Dr, ENT Dr, and had numerous x-rays, labs, you name it. Every single Dr looked at me like I had 2 heads because they can’t structurally see anything wrong. I was finally referred to Dr Jeffrey Okeson at the University of Kentucky. He is the foremost authority in the world on TMJ problems, and although my problem is not regarding TMJ, he has helped me. Tonight, I just finished Dr Sarno’s book and I think my problem lies within TMS.
I would love to talk to you about your story because it mirrors mine so much. I can tell you a lot of things that might help you, but I think TMS is what both of us are suffering from. If you want to make the contact, my email is whalwill@irtc.net. Good Luck, Will

 

I also have this same thing going on with my teeth. Top two back molars and bottom two back molars. I had this same pain a year ago and had the occlusal night guard made which I stopped wearing. I got no relief from it and figured I was confirming something was wrong physically by wearing it. The pain stopped for about 6 months with no guard and I was able to even chew gum again.
Fast forward to the last few months. We moved and had to completely renovate our home and my anxiety really spiked. Enter tooth pain. This time it was focused on one specific tooth on right side. I knew it was TMS. But,. It kinda tricked me again. It was so persistent and wasn't moving around so I made dental appt to see if it was a cavity. I kid you not, as I was driving to the dentist, it went to the left side. Throbbing pain. I laughed and thought, alright you wanna play? I'll get an x-ray on that tooth too so you see I'm on to you. No cavity! Tooth pain has backed off about 80%. I empathize with you as I once considered just pulling all teeth and getting dentures or something. In Alan Gordan's book he talks about pain in his foot and questioning if the brain could actually cause tenderness like this in his foot. I have fibromyalgia type pain. It's anywhere and everywhere and I completely understand how it feels structural. Mine comes and goes and it is always fear and anxiety related for me. The somatic tracking is really helping me a lot to be curious about the "sensations" and face them without fear or judgement.
P.s,.
At one point last year, my teeth hurt so bad I didn't even want to talk. I ate yogurt and soup. It was always accompanied with a very squeezing type headache in my temples. I'm not new to pain but I'm new to this forum and utilizing TMS tools. Most important thing I've learned so far is the more we worry about and fear something, the stronger it it gets. This is a tough one because it's hard to not fear what hurts and what is unknown.

 

I feel your pain!
I have something similar and I was searching on forum, that’s why I’m here. I’ve had my molar being painful for a year now after once my tooth got a too large filling on the side surface and since then I feel pain. I even did root canal like you did and it still hurts! Not as much as it used too but it does, and the whole upper left part of my teeth hurt. I also went to dentists many times, X-rays and ct scans are normal, nothing wrong so I’m starting to think about TMS now and since I have back/hip pains that don’t have reason which can also be TMS.
This is from my experience, I hope you feel better!

 

It sounds like you've been through a lot with your dental journey, and it can be frustrating when the pain persists despite various treatments. While I don't have personal experience with TMS, I understand that it has been beneficial for your back pain in the past. It's worth exploring the possibility of TMS being a factor in your current dental discomfort.

 

This post appeared in my email. After many years of tms symptoms I can say FEAR is at the bottom of them. If you can teach yourself that you are safe, your symptoms will fade away. I can hear folk say all sorts of resistance responses, but try it, you have nothing to lose...only pain.