Excrutiating gum pain during flight

[MedStudent82]

My husband is 40 years old and experiences excrutiating gum pain once the plane has reached cruising altitude, This pain continues until the plane starts to descend. It is always on the left hand side and is variably associated with numbness in his top lip. No NSAIDs help his pain. MRI and CT show nothing unusual. Today he went to the dentist who said that the filling in his first molar is very deep and close to the nerve root (see Xray), and that removing the nerve could perhaps help with his pain. She said the low cabin pressure could irritate the nerve. Would you agree? What do you suggest that my husband does? He needs to fly a lot with his job, and the excrutiating pain is preventing him flying and it interferes with his work (not to mention that he is worried as to what the cause might be!). Please help! Thanks

[scottma]

Seeing an ENT doctor first.

[MedStudent82]

Have seen 2 - both said it is not a sinus problem. Sinus pain usually occurs on take off or landing, not during the flight. No sinus involvement was seen on Xray, CT or MRI.

[scottma]

If the suspicious tooth tested vital by electric pulp test, there is no indication of root canal treatment.I do'nt know how the crusing altitude affects the human body function.Please be informed that dental pain is not always dental origin, it can be muscular origin or cns origin. If your husband has tmj assiciated symptoms, I would suggest place a cotton roll between front teeth while in the plane. This maneuver generally discludes posterior teeth contact, mandibular condyle is easy to seat in a stable position. The masticatory muscles can get relaxed. If this maneuver works, seeing a tmj specialist for a definitive treatment is advised.

[kellyk140]

I have the exact same problem. I've been flying weekly for 3.5 years, and this problem just started 2 months or so ago. I'm fine on flights <1.5 hours, but on longer flights it starts exactly the same time (right when the stewards are passing out drinks).

It's always the left side of my face, and it progresses until my left eyeball feels like it's going to explode and my left gum and lip goes numb.

Aspirin and ice over my face seems to help fix it - and once it starts taking effect it works in 3 minutes or so.

Mine happens while up in the air, and gets better when declining (but I'm not sure if that is due to aspirin & ice).

I can't seem to find a way to prevent the problem, and am working on experimenting. I can't imagine flying every single week with this!

Let me know what works.

- Kelly

[Angel6809]

Your husband's dentist may have a point.  Interestingly, changes in cabin air pressure can cause toothache in people who have diseases of the dental pulp (nerve). This rare condition develops when a small pocket of air localized inside a diseased tooth is subjected to changes in the surrounding barometric pressure.    I'm not saying his tooth is "diseased" as such, but seeing as there is a deep filling so close to the nerve, maybe it does get irritated when flying and radiates pain into the gum area.   If all other avenues have been tested in the area of sinus problems then I say kill the nerve.