Bruised tooth?

[ddd777]

I just went to the dentist yesterday because a week ago I bit into a hard piece of candy and my tooth has been giving me much pain ever since.  The pain has been so extremely bad I've hardly slept since it happened, the pain sometimes goes away for a couple hours, but always comes back.  When I was at the dentist my tooth was feeling OK, he took an xray and tapped on it and told me I had bruised my tooth and to take motrin and I'd be fine.  The tooth is a molar, the only one I have left on that side, and has already been filled a year ago.  I left the dentist and when I got home the pain was back- worse than ever.  It hasn't left and motrin doesn't even touch the pain.  Is it possible the tooth really is just "bruised"? And would a bruised tooth cause this much pain? I do have a high pain tolerance and have been dealing with this OK but it has been over a week and the pain is horrible, bring me to tears horrible.  There is no swelling but that whole side of my face feels like one big bruise and the tooth is throbbing with pain constantly.  It is affecting my work and my life to the point I don't want to do anything but sleep.  Should I wait this out or find a new dentist?

[andy_lewis]

I think you should go with new dentist as you can't brush your teeth so you need root canal treatments.

[gpr2]

if you have lingering tooth/nerve pain you cannot resolve with a dentist, or if it feels like sinus pain or pressure, PLEASE see an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) and ask them to look for IRITIS.  The nerve pain can radiate from your eye to your teeth etc., and it is important to rule this out!!!!!!  

[JackieFL]

I have sprained ligaments right now, too. I have no lower molars and that is causing my eye teeth to do the work they should not be doing. Mortin is helping with the pain. I'm also a night grinder and have lost several molars due to this. Funny that I'm 51 before any dentist recommended a night guard to me.

*** I can tell anyone having this problem to AVOID SUGAR *** Sugar sends my pain through the roof! Just like a sprained wrist or ankle, take it easy! Eat soft foods, avoid sugar at all costs, avoid hot and cold, and tough foods like meat. Seafoods are easy to eat, and pasta, rice, etc. I just let it cool to almost room temperature. Eat on the other side of your mouth if possible.

I've read that healing can take anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks. I'm in week 2 and the pain is getting much more tolerable. You can reduce your pain by taking motrin/ibuprofen, and antibiotics for 7-10 days, and treating your tooth with delicate care. I also had a teeth cleaning with an Ultrasonic and that made me feel better as well.

The sprained ligament means there's a space between your tooth and gum now. Anything that gets in that socket is going to cause some pain. So please avoid sugar because it feeds the bad bacteria. Luke warm, soft foods are best. God luck!

[JackieFL]

I have sprained ligaments right now on 2 teeth, too. I don't have any lower molars on my left side and that is causing my eye teeth to do the work they should not be doing. Mortin is helping with the pain. I'm also a night grinder and have lost several molars due to this. Funny that I'm 51 years old before any dentist recommended a night guard to me. *** I can tell anyone having this problem to AVOID SUGAR. Sugar sends my pain through the roof! Just like a sprained wrist or ankle, take it easy! Eat soft foods, avoid sugar at all costs, avoid hot and cold, and tough foods like meat. Seafood is easy to eat. Eat on the other side of your mouth if possible. I've read that healing can take anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks. I'm in week 2 and it's getting more tolerable. You can reduce your pain by taking motrin/ibuprofen, antibiotics for 7-10 days, and treating your tooth with very delicate care.  

[Madmod20061]

Old thread but I see it's still going.  I've now had 2 bruised teeth both caused by my bite shifting and too much pressure being put on a tooth.  It started out feeling like I cut my gums then got worse from there.  Both times the dentist grinded down my bite (both were crowns with root canals).  The first one felt better in a bout 2 days.  The second one was just today so I'm hoping it clears just as fast.  She recommended a night guard but it was so costly I decided to do some research on it before I committed to  something like that.

[kamokids]

I'm actually suffering from terrible tooth throbbing pain right now from a molar that already has had a root canal.  I did this once before and the dentist said I bruised my tooth.  I was given 600mg of motrin and antibiotics and it did get better in about 4 days, but it was the longest four days of my life.  I couldnt eat, sleep, or do anything except think about how much my tooth hurt.  The lat time I did this, I was crunching on some hard candy.  This time I did something similar and I'm thinking how dumb I am to do this twice...arrrgh!

[stacey248]

Same here what did u do to it?

[melissagirl098]

Acctually what you are saying is true. I looked up for help because I've been going through the same thing. I know what you mean by unbearable pain but there's nothing much they can do. I was at a surgeon this morning for the same issue, a root canal may not be the solution because I had a root canal on the same tooth that is giving me problems 2 years ago and the dentist (the same one who did my root canal) checked out the tooth and told me the root canal was not the problem and it had cleared up perfectly. What I was told is yes I did bruise my tooth, but in other words he says I traumitized it causing serious pain by eating hard candies aka a whole box of milk duds  oops! There's nothing much they can do but prescribe antibiotics and ibuprophen I've been taking both for 2 days now and it doesn't help at all except the ibuprophen taking the pain away for a couple of hours. He did say a crown will be necessary in the near future but with Easter approaching and I have to fly out to see family so he won't be doing it now. but to make you feel better it will take 3-7 days to heal. I know how it feels!! Best of luck xxx <3

[jilln1379]

I work as a dental assistant. You can bruise a tooth. Bruising a tooth means that there has been some sort of trauma to the tooth, which means you may have done some damage to your pulp chamber and/or nerve canal. Since your dentist only suggested Motrin, he may just be taking a wait and see attitude. Why? If your tooth heals, there is no need for further action. If your tooth doesn't heal, you may need a root canal and some other restorative procedure or just an extraction. Keep an eye on it. Look for redness around the gums for abcessing, and note the color of your tooth. It may get darker. If it changes to a darker color (brown or gray) and stays that way for a long time (months 6-8) your tooth may be dead. If that happens, you will need some sort of procedure, extraction, root canal, etc.

[riverratt77]

was your pain just on one tooth or did the pain generate to other teeth as well?

[Nisismom]

Hello there! I appreciate what you wrote. can you say how long it took for your tooth to heal from the bruise? I got hit in the face, and have had pain above my front tooth ever since...

[Techuser01]

I had a bruise tooth, the pain was unbearable.  Went to the dentist and found that I have been grinding and clenching my teeth at night.  Bruising on the tooth is like a bruise on your body, it hurts when anything touches it.  I folded sterlized pads and put them in my mouth, surrounded the area.  It took about week for the pain to stop and I was good to go.  That was my first time to hear about bruising of the teeth.  I felt for sure I had an exposed nerve. There is more info on the internet about this as well.

[tomt804]

some or all of your filling could have fallen out...it happened to me and that causes severe pain. If left unfilled, the cavity will eventually reach the nerve and THEN you will need a root canal.

[smccullagh]

Contrary to the advice you've been given here by what are clearly NOT dentists. You can, in fact, bruise a tooth, or more accurately the ligaments that support the tooth - the periodontal ligaments. This can occur in a variety of circumstances, and so long as the original cause of the bruising is no longer present and you rest said tooth / teeth this should clear up of its own accord.

How do I know this? Because I have experienced this and my tooth is now fine again without needing a root canal or anything like that.

All the best!

[turkee23]

yea you cant bruise a tooth.... sounds like when u bit into candy you damaged the nerve and now its dying....that would cause pain and a greyish look to the tooth.... you probably need a root canal and a crown....get another dentist for sure

[Anna2014]

You most likely have an abscessed tooth. You will need a root canal for the tooth and antibiotics and pain pills! (I am going thru the same thing at this moment!)

[J_Dub88]

No, actually I'm thinking what ddd777 is saying may be plausible. I'm currently AD in the USAF and I went to the dental clinic today cause of tenderness I had been having in my molar near the gumline that started first what seemed to be an on and off type deal but has been bothering me consistently for the last 4 days. This morning I messaged the sensitive are and it started bleeding. My dentist pretty much followed the same exact steps. I got an x-ray, he then told me what he think it was (the bruising, due to my orthodontics and raised molar) So he did some more tests including the tapping. He then grinded the molar down a little and advised I try to avoid chewing much with it and take motrin for a few days. I was just here cause I wanted some sort of closure. To find someone else such as ddd777 with a similar story is satisfying. Cause like most people out there, I have never actually heard of bruising of a tooth before, or had even thought it was possible. My profession is medical also. I trust the AirForce dentists cause it's their job to make sure it's members maintain a dental fitness standard for deployment. Also when they're military themselves, you know they're getting paid on salary and each face does not mean an extra buck.

[Susan1944]

You can't bruise a tooth. You need a root canal and a crown and he Knows it. Find a new dentist. He'll give you vicodin. Poor thing.