Dental woes... (a Please Help post)
People who have had experiences with wisdom teeth coming in, either healthily or not, please advise! Have been having tooth pain; details below.
My wisdom teeth have been slow coming in. (My entire dental development was slow; my mother refers to me as dentally retarded.) A few years ago, when I had my last check-up (no insurance and no money since), they x-rayed and determined that there was nowhere near enough room in my jaw for the top teeth, but that the bottom teeth would probably be okay. Now at the time, there was pretty much no sign of my top teeth (if there ever is, there will probably need to be surgery), and the bottom teeth were just vaguely starting to surface, and there really hasn't been much change since.
Until yesterday, when the bottom left--always a little ahead of the bottom right--and the two or so adjacent molars started hurting. At first a little, now rather strong. Constant dull ache, increasing immensely when I swallow or otherwise apply even slight suction, or open my mouth very wide. Chewing hurts a little more, but not as much, and it actually feels a little better if I stick my finger in and press down. Also, you know where you can feel your jaw bones under your chin? On the right side, it feels perfectly normal, but on the left, it's vaguely, oddly tender. Down at the bottom of the jaw bone, nowhere near the teeth.
Is this to be expected? Or is this a sign of Something Bad?
Possible related information: My tooth habits have gone downhill; I brush, though not as often as I should (about once daily), and remember to floss only rarely, and eat candy often. I've had two cavities, both when I was fairly small (maybe in the 8-12 range). I sleep on my belly with my face turned to the right, so I do sleep on that jaw. And I haven't had a cleaning, if memory serves, since I lost all insurance and health care support about two years ago.
My wisdom teeth have been slow coming in. (My entire dental development was slow; my mother refers to me as dentally retarded.) A few years ago, when I had my last check-up (no insurance and no money since), they x-rayed and determined that there was nowhere near enough room in my jaw for the top teeth, but that the bottom teeth would probably be okay. Now at the time, there was pretty much no sign of my top teeth (if there ever is, there will probably need to be surgery), and the bottom teeth were just vaguely starting to surface, and there really hasn't been much change since.
Until yesterday, when the bottom left--always a little ahead of the bottom right--and the two or so adjacent molars started hurting. At first a little, now rather strong. Constant dull ache, increasing immensely when I swallow or otherwise apply even slight suction, or open my mouth very wide. Chewing hurts a little more, but not as much, and it actually feels a little better if I stick my finger in and press down. Also, you know where you can feel your jaw bones under your chin? On the right side, it feels perfectly normal, but on the left, it's vaguely, oddly tender. Down at the bottom of the jaw bone, nowhere near the teeth.
Is this to be expected? Or is this a sign of Something Bad?
Possible related information: My tooth habits have gone downhill; I brush, though not as often as I should (about once daily), and remember to floss only rarely, and eat candy often. I've had two cavities, both when I was fairly small (maybe in the 8-12 range). I sleep on my belly with my face turned to the right, so I do sleep on that jaw. And I haven't had a cleaning, if memory serves, since I lost all insurance and health care support about two years ago.