Galvantic Shock???

[pen1217]

I have been to 3 different dental offices with the exact problem, all have a different answer.  I have severe tooth sensitivity in tooth 2,3,4 the tooth number 4 has a galvantic shock in it, just recently its starting to shock when eating food, scrammbled eggs one time and potato salad with boiled eggs. I have had my teeth cleaned since the exrays were taken. The first dentist thought he saw a cavity under 2 of the 4 teeth, he wanted 2900.-- for a root canal and 2 crowns,  I am the one who suggested a tooth cleaning first thinking my plaque build up may be the culprit. The second dentist didnt have an answer either, he wanted 6 crowns and a root planing and scaling to the tune of 10k. They did a surface clean and I left. The third dentist, which I signed up for a dental group plan,  this one said do a dental debribment, applied flouride gel, and prescribed flouride toothpaste. She said she would have to numb me to be able to check the tooth with the shock, all my teeth pockets were 3 except one back molar was a 5. I am only 47 and I cant not eat or drink on one side for ever. In march I had tooth 13 break at gum and had it surgically, because of the extraction I had to eat on the sensitive side, it was not as severe until I started flossing and brushing more regularly. Now its so bad I can only handle luke warm anything, also after being shocked from food I am very very afraid to have food touch that side, its a shock where you almost throw your plate of food against the wall. It seems like my allergies are pretty severe this summer, post nasal drip everyday sneezing, would it be advised to go to an allergist I am have bouts of pain under the right cheek pain where the sensitive teeth are. I have all my xrays, not sure if the ones I posted are correct side. Thank you for your reply, I am ready to pull the 3 teeth and call it quits, then I really wouldnt be eating.

[pen1217]

A related discussion, answer was started.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

I'm not sure whats the best route to go.  Go to the allergist first but usually a sinus infection would result in more of a toothache feeling that hurts when you bite down.  But it would also hurt when you move your head up and down as the fluids in the sinus will move around, causing the pressure and pain.  Since the roots of the teeth are near the sinus, sometimes biting on it will cause some irritation to the sinus but I wouldn't describe that pain as shock, more usually an ache or sensitivity.  

Your dentist (whichever you choose) should probably do a percussion test and bite test to identify which one is causing the pain.  If its multiple teeth I'm leaning more towards either a gum problem or a sinus problem.  It kind of rare to have that kind of pain on multiple teeth at the same time, especially a shock pain.

Since there's no different types of metals in your mouth, I'd consider galvanic shock less likely.  You can also look into seeing a neurologist possibly but if its only triggered by hitting the tooth, its probably not something a neurologist would treat.  If you had a shock pain on your face or something that might be triggered by touching the skin, etc, I would consider a neurologist.

[pen1217]

Thank you, all of my teeth fillings were done 37 yrs ago, the fillings are all the same material, not gold, silver color. I havent had any work on any of the fillings ever, the only extreme thing that has happened is the 13 tooth breaking. Do you believe a debridement can stop these teeth from this severe sensitivity? I do think there is more to the shock tooth, like you say a crack, if there was a cavity under the filling could that cause this shock? This shock used to only happen when a metal tool touched it, now its being this when I eat only the few times, but I wont eat on it after the last shock. I am going to make an appt for an allergist today and see if there is anylthing going on for sure. Where do I go from here? 3 dentists, do I need a 4th? Thank you,

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Do you have alot of pressure and pain in that upper right area on top of the shock pain?  It may be galvanic shock but that would require a metal filling in one tooth and a gold filling in another (or something like that) to create the electrical current most likely.  Is that the case?

It may be that the tooth could be cracked which is a very tough diagnosis to make and a complicated treatment due to the difficulty in diagnosing how deep a crack goes.  

It could also be a sinus problem although it sounds very severe for a sinus infection.  If you can put up with it, you could try an allergist and take some antibiotics to see if it'll help clear up the sinus and thus relieve the pain.  If it does, then it was most likely not a dental problem.