Lockjaw after a rough dental crown (or "trismus")

[Muushka]

I had a crown put in my mouth a week ago Tuesday (4/15). It was a difficult appointment. The dentist worked in my mouth for over an hour (like around 80 minutes) constantly telling me to 'open wide'.

My mouth was very sore, but for the past several days, I am only able to open my mouth about 1/2 (two fingers worth) the amount I was able to open it prior to the dentist visit.

I called him and went in today to have him check it. He basically said that it is my problem, almost implying that he didn't have anything to do with it. I mentioned (and it is in my medical records) that I have never had any type of jaw problem, until I came into his office. He just said that I need to go to an oral surgeon and have him care for it.

So my question is this: Is the dentist responsible for this type of problem? I am in no way litigious, having been in the medical field for more than 30 years and know that mistakes can happen. But this guy was so covering his butt that he now has me thinking that he should at least apologize! I also do not planning on going to the oral surgeon he recommends because if he is at fault, I doubt his friend would say so.

Opinions? Am I over reacting?

PS for the record I have apologized countless times in my career for hurting people, sometimes days after the fact when I realized that I hurt them (blood drawing). I never once had anyone sue me, and we (patient and I) always dealt with each other with a smile.

 

[Cass]

Lockjaw is caused by infection, he would have seen signs of infection - it's probably just sore but not really lockjaw which can be quite serious. (It's tetanus)

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Muushka]

Well the official name is trismus, but I figured most people (myself included) wouldn't know what that meant. But I had added that word to the thread title.

 

[weregoingtodw]

My sister got trismus after having her wisdom teeth removed. I remember that there was something that the dentist did incorrectly. I cannot remember what, but I do know that he arranged for her physical therapy that she needed as a result of it.

I'm very sorry. It sounds to be quite painful and aggravating.

 

[Missy Mouse]

I had a crown put in my mouth a week ago Tuesday (4/15). It was a difficult appointment. The dentist worked in my mouth for over an hour (like around 80 minutes) constantly telling me to 'open wide'.

My mouth was very sore, but for the past several days, I am only able to open my mouth about 1/2 (two fingers worth) the amount I was able to open it prior to the dentist visit.

I called him and went in today to have him check it. He basically said that it is my problem, almost implying that he didn't have anything to do with it. I mentioned (and it is in my medical records) that I have never had any type of jaw problem, until I came into his office. He just said that I need to go to an oral surgeon and have him care for it.

So my question is this: Is the dentist responsible for this type of problem? I am in no way litigious, having been in the medical field for more than 30 years and know that mistakes can happen. But this guy was so covering his butt that he now has me thinking that he should at least apologize! I also do not planning on going to the oral surgeon he recommends because if he is at fault, I doubt his friend would say so.

Opinions? Am I over reacting?

PS for the record I have apologized countless times in my career for hurting people, sometimes days after the fact when I realized that I hurt them (blood drawing). I never once had anyone sue me, and we (patient and I) always dealt with each other with a smile.

Hi there. I have severe trismus as a result of TMJ from braces years ago. I have been to an oral surgeon who recommended surgery...I declined and he put me on around-the-clock Motrin and Flexeril. I eventually had a bite plate made to stabilize my jaw, but not much has helped. I think you should act quickly so you don't end up with a severe case like mine, and then you can figure out who is to blame. Your health is more important than anything else. Good luck.

 

[Muushka]

My sister got trismus after having her wisdom teeth removed. I remember that there was something that the dentist did incorrectly. I cannot remember what, but I do know that he arranged for her physical therapy that she needed as a result of it.

I'm very sorry. It sounds to be quite painful and aggravating.

Yes, it is. I am glad that your sister's dentist at least admitted that he did something wrong. Just curious, did your sister have to pay for the treatment?

Hi there. I have severe trismus as a result of TMJ from braces years ago. I have been to an oral surgeon who recommended surgery...I declined and he put me on around-the-clock Motrin and Flexeril. I eventually had a bite plate made to stabilize my jaw, but not much has helped. I think you should act quickly so you don't end up with a severe case like mine, and then you can figure out who is to blame. Your health is more important than anything else. Good luck.

I plan on acting quickly. It wasn't a question of whether or not I should go to an oral surgeon. Thanks for the well wishes!

 

[4nana]

I am sorry, as I know this kind of pain . Yes it can certainly mean infection, but not always. DH and I have occassionally had terrible jaw pain when having major dental work done for entended periods. From my understanding many times it is TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), where xtra stress has been put on your jaw causing it to slip in and out of joint. Several members of our family, incl our DD while in college, was in treatment from lockjaw caused by stress that lead to TMJ. Then my poor Mom, who had to survived on baby food, had TMJ for a whole month. My BIL had TMJ from a dental trip which also left him hard of hearing.

Honestly, unless you want to go to ER tonight, I would try very warm compresses, motrin or muscle relaxer. Also perhaps get an atheltic mouth brace at drug store to sleep with to help your joint stay in place. Simply boil it, cut to fit mouth, bite to fit. By all means seek medical attention soon and hope feel better soon. Meanwhile perhaps do a search on TMJ.

Perhaps 'tiggersmon2' will see this thread - I believe she is a dental hygienist and may be able to offer some top notch advise.

Anyone else in the field who can pls offer advise???

 

[Muushka]

Again, thank you all for the well wishes. There is no pain associated with this unless I open my mouth too wide.
I plan in calling around for an oral surgeon today.

My question really was not about what the problem is (the dentist had me open my mouth way too wide for way too long), my question was: is my dentist responsible for further treatments of my condition seeing that he was the one who caused the problem.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Again, thank you all for the well wishes. There is no pain associated with this unless I open my mouth too wide.
I plan in calling around for an oral surgeon today.

My question really was not about what the problem is (the dentist had me open my mouth way too wide for way too long), my question was: is my dentist responsible for further treatments of my condition seeing that he was the one who caused the problem.

If I had to take a stab at it, I would say no. And I would NEVER go to him again.

Anytime I had work done they put the "do-hickey thing" in my mouth that keeps my mouth open and it is always relaxed. It is like a rubber thingy.

 

[bfeller]

I understand your pain. I had a root canal with an endodontist a week ago Tuesday and my mouth was open for 2 hours and 15 minutes. He gave me an antibiotic to be on the safe side and some pain medication because he said that I would be sore. I really wasn't all that sore around the tooth area but I still have some soreness when I open my mouth such as just eating a hot dog. I just figured that it would go away eventually since the dentist had warned me of this. Hopefully your pain will go away also.

BUT....I also remember signing something before the procedure about recognizing that jaw problems and some other things can be caused by the procedure and I acknowledged it.

 

[Muushka]

Can you physically open your mouth now? I cannot open my mouth beyond about an inch. Very strange. It feels like my jaw will brake if I open it beyond that much.

I've had root canals and crowns and never had this problem.
Oy.

 

[bfeller]

I can open it but if I open it wide it is sore but not painful. Also if I move my mouth around in direction like side to side it is sore. But since the dentist told me to expect it I just accepted it. I can tell that each day I am a little less sore. But Wednesday night we went to a baseball game and the hot dog did make me sore to open. I did have one of those rubber things in my mouth also that was mentioned above. Dummy me, I thought it was only for isolating the tooth...I had no idea it was helping keep my mouth open. And I thought I was a good patient.

 

[Muushka]

Just a follow up.

My dentist called me on Friday and said he spoke with the oral surgeon. Their advice was to take Ibuprophen and Flexoril and wait about 3 weeks and it should be better by then.

Oh, and the dentist sort of admitted that my visit there may have had something to do with my problem. He said that this is the first time in 6 years that this has happened.
I will be curious if he calls me in a week or 2 to check on my progress.

 

[DaisyDebbie]

I just had a crown put in and had the same thing. I have numerous crowns in my mouth and that always happens to me after. Usually in a few days it calms down and I can open my "big" mouth again

Hope you're feeling better.

 

[Muushka]

I just had a crown put in and had the same thing. I have numerous crowns in my mouth and that always happens to me after. Usually in a few days it calms down and I can open my "big" mouth again

Hope you're feeling better.

Thanks! That is good news.