Those of you who have been reading this blog or checking in on the “About Kalí” page know that I suspect that dental work was a major contributor to my chronic burning mouth. I can tie the syndrome to dental work in both instances it has occurred in my life and even a dental cleaning, no matter how gentle, can cause me to have a minor flare in burning intensity.

Sometimes you just have to get something major done though, and for me, it was the recent replacement of a very deteriorated crown. It was on my lower left back molar and the porcelain cladding had chipped way over the years until I was chomping on metal.

Eventually, I broke through the metal and actually had a hole that could lead to decay and abscess, and my dentist and I decided it was time to “bite the bullet” and replace that crown.

I have had a lifetime of dental trauma and have no pride when it comes to asking for pain relief. I use nitrous during any procedures more complex than cleaning and don’t want to feel anything. My dentist is very conscientious about how he does the numbing and we always are sure I am as pain-free as possible.

This time it was different. Evidently when you only have one molar, your bone actually shifts around in response to the additional concussion of chewing, and your nerves can actually shift with it. It took a lot to get numb and my jaw was quite achy after it wore off. But I got my temporary and it was over and I had plenty of time until the next appointment when my permanent crown would be fitted.

Or so we thought.

I got a call soon after the appointment saying that the company that makes the permanent crowns was not satisfied with one of the scans and wanted the dentist to go back in and remodel the tooth before they progressed with something they didn’t think would be satisfactory. I was still sore from the first go around but I agreed that it was better done now than later so my permanent crown would not be delayed.

It was terrible. My dentist used all of the novocaine he could safely use and I was still feeling pain and zings in that molar. He took new scans and did some big revisions to the temporary crown so I had little to no contact on it and I went home with an aching jaw that just got tighter and tighter. I couldn’t open my mouth enough to spoon food in at first, but I persisted in stretching and massaging that side of my jaw, and two weeks later, I could open it almost all the way without discomfort. There is still a deep ache behind the temporary that yells at me if I open up all the way.

What did all of this do to your burning pain, you ask?

I have been flaring since the first session and I don’t know if this will calm down any time soon since I still have to go back in and get the permanent crown. Extra Clonazepam ODT helps and I am pulling out the stops on every coping strategy I have.

This stuff happens, my friends, and sometimes you simply can’t avoid it. The consequences of taking poor care of your teeth and gums are so much worse and you may end up with surgery or even extraction.

So, I will go back to the dentist in a couple of weeks and prepare for more fun as we put the permanent crown on and then give my poor mouth a rest for a while. Until the next issue pops up, I will just continue to floss, brush, and use xylitol as my sweetener.

Wish me luck!