Re: limited mouth opening after injection

From: Dora (eldos_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 11/05/04 

Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2004 05:02:04 GMT

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 14:57:36 +0000, Dave S
<d.shepherd@dontbother.ac.uk> wrote:

>Hi,

Hi.

>I've searched the archives of this group and found a few cases similar
>to mine, but none that seem to be so protracted. I have now been
>referred by my dentist to an oral surgeon - my appointment is next
>Tuesday. the history is this:
>
>I had a cracked filling replaced in a lower molar (left side, 3rd from
>the front). The injection was quite uncomfortable (which surprised me
>since I normally hardly feel them, other than when I had my wisdom
>teeth removed). I noticed that the dentist inserted the needle twice.
>
>As the anaesthetic wore off, the whole of the left side of my lower
>jaw became extremely painful, and I had restricted opening of my mouth
>(I could get just 2 fingers between my front teeth). My dentist told
>me it was probably bruising from the injection (which was into the
>muscle at the back of the mouth) and that it would clear in a couple
>of days. After 1 week there was no change in jaw function and the pain
>was worse so I attended the hospital. Jaw was x-rayed, I was told by
>general doctor that there was no dislocation, but the muscles were in
>spasm and they would settle down in time. I was given stronger
>painkillers.

>My dentist disputes that the muscles are in spasm and insists it is
>just bruising. However, it is more than 5 weeks since the treatment
>and althought he general pain has subsided, my jaw opening is still
>limited to 1 finger despite doing the stretching excercises and twice
>weekly accupuncture from my Chinese doctor. Finally I have been
>referred to an oral surgeon, my appointment will be 6 weeks after the
>initial treatment.

avoid surgery.

>The pain on opening is concentrated behind my teeth in the area
>between the upper and lower jaw. If I try harder the pain moves to the
>area just in front of my ear and spreads to the upper jaw, with all
>the teeth on that side feeling rather sensitive. The sensation is that
>there is something quite solid preventing my jaw from opening
>properly.

here is something simple and harmless to try.. if you have not
already.. you did not give specifics about what kind of
stretching exercises you have done
how about applying heat (hot towel or cloth) to the affected side
covering the area from the front of the ear to the mandible for
say, 15-20 minutes twice a day. After applying heat, move
the mandible (move the chin) very carefully, slowly downward, then
forward, jutting the chin forward.
- Don't move the chin back, or side to side.
all this very easy. first slightly downward as far as you can
comfortably, then slightly forward, jutting the chin forward,
after appying heat, very easy (in the shape of a "J" if you
can imagine)
Try this for a few days and see if there is any change.

>Could bruising or muscle spasm really be the cause of my problem
>(given that it's now 5 weeks and no improvement)? Is it feasible that
>the disc could have slipped out of position? IS there anything
>particular that I should expect the oral surgeon to check?
>
>I should point out that I have seen in other posts the suggestion that
>TMD problem could lead to muscle bruising from injection, but as far
>as I am aware I don't have any TMD problems, and no grinding, jaw
>clenching etc.
>
>Having been sharing meals with my 16 month daughter for the past 5
>weeks, I really do need to get this sorted, so any comments or
>suggestions would be gratefully received.

Hope this works.

>Dave

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