pain Question

[sol]

Hey guys/gals I have a question about some a rather painful tooth of mine, it is really bothering me, my upper left second molar is really kicking. I had my adjustment in mid November and the soreness has come and gone but it has been very consistent soreness I am not sure if it is because of the power chain or what, but it is not good, and just this morning my molar is really hurting, I cannot eat, or even touch it with my other teeth because if I do it hurts very bad. Any idea of if this is braces pain or could this be a cavity, or something worse? I have never had one and I keep my teeth clean so not sure. It also has been bleeding recently, I figured I cut my gum so could it be infected even though it is not red? I am going to my general dentist very soon but would like to know if there is anything I could try to at least ease the pain until then? I have been doing saltwater rinses, peroxide rinse, I also use fluoride rinse twice a day, and take Advil but it is not helping at all. Let me know, I can deal with it but would rather not have to, I have an appointment next week and cannot get anything earlier.
Thanks

[Sunny]

Sol I think you need to ask a professional about this pain, as it's a long time since your last adjustment, and even for people with a low pain thresh hold, you'd expect your mouth to be feeling fine now.

I suspect this is not pain caused by your braces ... or at least by your braces alone. Hopefully it's nothing that will need any major sorting, but the sooner you seek advice the better.

I don't really thing there's much more you can do to help with the pain. for a toothache, oil of cloves is great ... but I'm not sure if what you're describing is a toothache.

Good luck with getting this sorted quickly!

[sol]

Thats what I was kinda thinking, I will just deal with it until next week. I am just surprised my front teeth still are sore but the molar is what is really painful.
Thanks

[Sunny]

In my early months, my front teeth had a dull ache in them whenever I tried to bite with them. I suspect this is because of the size of their root and the amount of pressure being put on them. I chose to bite with my molars only ... and still do, as this also keeps food away from the front of my braces.

Hopefully all will be sorted at your appointment next week ... and you'll feel loads better!

[osamawad]

pain is normal after regular adjustment, and it could last for two or three day,

but not anymore. i used to be unable to sleep all this period, meanwhile i think about

return back to my ortho and ask him to undo what he made in the last visit.

good luck , and hope you get rid of this pain soon

[Sunny]

Osamawad ... pain isn't normal. A slight discomfort maybe and for those with a low pain threshold a little more ... but not something described as pain. The new archwires that work consistently from one adjustment to another are the reason why pain should no longer be associated with orthodontics.

An added powerchain or elastics may cause a different type of discomfort that results in an ache that would be described as more annoying than an archwire adjustment ... but there still shouldn't be any pain for the majority of people.

We ask patients to let us know if they feel pain. During our second meeting with the patient, we also ask them to tell us on a scale of 1-10 - 10 being the most horrible pain ... what pain they've experienced after a variety of examples. We use this scale to help us decided if we should see a person between appointments if they phone with more than their expected level of discomfort. It's important to acknowledge what a person is feeling, but it's also important to help educate people that pain is not normal with orthodontics.

It's also important for patients to be pro-active with their treatment, if they are experiencing more discomfort than normal. This may mean increasing the number of warm salt water rinses they do daily, taking over the counter pain meds, returning to soft foods, chewing more in the area that feels sore, chewing on a damp/cold coth in that area, using a topical numbing/antiseptic gel/cream ... etc.