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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Difficulty In Chewing Post Root Canal Treatment?

Had root canal on last molar 12 days ago - 1.5 hrs. in chair with mouth open - TMJ flaired up and now have trismus. Can't open mouth more than 1 finger - can't chew - headache and earache all the time - can't even brush teeth. Hurts to chew anything at all. Am losing weight from not eating. Endodontist said there was no infection in the tooth he did the root canal on, but regular dentist prescribed antibiotic and muscle relaxer -- both of which make me nauseous, and make headache worse, and give me diarhrrea without helping at all with the pain. Am doing cold compresses every 15 min. and exercising jaw as much as I can. How long will I have to go on like this and what more can I do. I can't get crown on root canal tooth until I can open my mouth. I also have bruxism.
Wed, 5 Nov 2014
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Dentist, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,  's  Response
Thanks for your query, I have gone through your query.
The limited mouth opening and pain could be because of opening your mouth for long time and bruxism leading to disc displacement in the Temporomandibular joint.
Consult a oral physician and get it diagnosed. You can take anti inflammatory drugs like piroxicam 20mg twice daily on first day and twice daily on next 6 days. You can also take muscle relaxants like chlorzoxazone. You can give hot fomentation over the joints. Do not eat hard things, do not open your mouth too wide. take soft diet. Give rest to the joint.
For nausea and vomitting you can take an antacid like ranitidine and domperidone respectively.
If all these wont work, then you have to get a splint done.
I hope my answer will help you, take care.
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What Causes Difficulty In Chewing Post Root Canal Treatment?

Thanks for your query, I have gone through your query. The limited mouth opening and pain could be because of opening your mouth for long time and bruxism leading to disc displacement in the Temporomandibular joint. Consult a oral physician and get it diagnosed. You can take anti inflammatory drugs like piroxicam 20mg twice daily on first day and twice daily on next 6 days. You can also take muscle relaxants like chlorzoxazone. You can give hot fomentation over the joints. Do not eat hard things, do not open your mouth too wide. take soft diet. Give rest to the joint. For nausea and vomitting you can take an antacid like ranitidine and domperidone respectively. If all these wont work, then you have to get a splint done. I hope my answer will help you, take care.