Spreading pain from inside cheek bite

[mshriver]

My son bit his cheek during football practice, causing a "hole" inside his cheek. Three days later he is still in quite a bit of pain, which is exacerbated by eating. The pain is spreading to a tooth (could be an unrelated toothache?).
Would appreciate suggestions for decreasing pain and speeding up healing and/or if this sounds like an infection that needs professional dental care.

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

It sounds like he did a pretty good job. It is not unusual for it last 7 to 10 days. You can get a steriod ointment that is a prescription item from your dentist. This will allay the discomfort until it heals.

[Zzzdentist]

If the hole is large enough, it certainly can contribute to a problem with infection and pain on eating.  It's best to consult a dentist to see if it requires sutures (or tissue glue) and possibly antibiotics.  The pain in the tooth may be referred pain or a tooth that was traumatized during the accident, but it might be best to check that out too while your in the clinic.

For the time being, I would suggest taking Ibuprofen for the pain as long as he doesn't have any contraindications to that medication.

Zzzdentist