Weird Symptoms after Wisdom Teeth removal

So i have posted here before that i have had Eagles symptoms on right side for 6 years and have had my right styloid partially removed. Well 4.5 weeks ago i had all 4 wisdom teeth removed and since a week after surgery I have had throat pain down by my jugular notch area and chest pain. The chest is tender to touch and throat pain is sometimes pain, sometimes choking feeling/tightness. I have been taking acid reducers since onset with zero improvement. I have since seen an ENT and GI. ENT said everything looked fine. GI stated we have ran several tests in the past including Manometry and Upper GI being all negative for acid. She reluctantly scheduled another endoscope to look again at esophagus but believes this either a hypersensitivity or muscular issue. Wonder if this could be Eagles related at all? On my CT’s i was always told i don’t have any calcification. My GP put me on some Magic Mouthwash to see if it coats throat and heals up as she had no more ideas.

Hi mikeg,

I’m sorry for what you’re going through. Others have had tooth extractions that flared up ES symptoms. Since your styloid was only partially removed, there is a chance it has regrown. There is also a chance that the piece that’s left is long enough it is causing symptoms again.

The nerve that can be affected w/ wisdom tooth extraction is the trigeminal nerve & sometimes the facial nerve. It’s often also affected by ES. The chest pain, throat (including choking sensation)/esophageal & gastrointestinal issues can all be related to vagus nerve irritation. With the exception of your chest being tender to the touch all other symptoms have been seen w/ ES. Many of our members have been treated for GERD w/o any results because the cause was vagus nerve irritation not extra stomach acid.

The “Magic Mouthwash” may contain lidocaine or some other numbing agent that will temporarily relieve pain but won’t make it go away permanently.

I would recommend that you ask your GP or ENT for a CT scan to revisit Eagle Syndrome to see how long your styloids are & to check for calcification on your stylohyoid ligaments. There are no ES doctors on our list for your state. That’s not to say there isn’t one but no one has recommended someone. There are two doctors in Nebraska & 2 in Minnesota. Using the magnifying glass icon above, you can get whatever information is on this forum about them based on posts by members who’ve seen them. If you can travel, then three good options would be Dr. Cognetti in Philadelphia, PA, Dr. Samji in San Jose, CA, or Dr. Milligan in Phoenix, AZ. These are the 3 most experienced ES surgeons on our Doctors’ List. Both Dr. Samji & Dr. Cognetti will do phone consults once they have your CT scan & radiology report in hand. I don’t believe Dr. Milligan does phone consults.

Here are pictures of where the vagus nerve & trigeminal nerve are in your body. Just seeing their locations can help to explain symptoms.

https://takefivemeditation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/vagus.jpg

https://forum.livingwitheagle.org/t/us-doctors-familiar-with-es-2019/4752

So sorry that you’re in alot of pain after the dental treatment. I agree with all that Isaiah has said, would add that the wisdom tooth extraction can be quite tricky & needs alot of pulling & tugging, so it could be it’s upset nerves, or maybe has affected scar tissue from your previous surgery which is now irritating nerves. Otherwise it could be regrowth, so getting another CT would be good.
I have seen mention of chest pain with vascular ES; if the carotid artery is compressed/ irritated it can cause pain along it’s length. Do you have any vascular symptoms- dizziness etc?
Hope that you get some answers soon…

1 Like

Hi @mikeg,

So sorry you are experiencing pain after wisdom teeth removal. I had wisdom teeth removal before I even knew I had ES. The symptoms I had before the wisdom teeth removal continued after and I lived with it for over 13 years.

Question: which side hurts? Right or left? You had a right styloid process removal and it was partial. If your body produces calcium naturally then it can re-grow. Some indicators of your body creating a lot of calcium is if your sweat residue on your clothes leaves white stains or your teeth create a lot of calcification. If you have visited your dentist they would be wondering how is it possible you create so much.

Also, can you explain your chest pain. Try to think about sharp, dull or throbbing? Which one is it, and is it triggered by stimulus, like touching or can’t trigger the pain by touch etc.

Another thing that you should try to understand is if anti-inflammatory or pain receptors blocking meds help. Anti-inflammatory will be all NSAID (ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen sodium etc.) or pain Receptor blocking will be acetaminophen (Tylenol).

An assessment like that will help you cover your symptoms with your Dr. this way your Dr will be able to make a better decision of what tests to administer and diagnose you better.

I hope this can help you and please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Riki

1 Like

So update on this. I have since been to ENT, had Upper Endo done, and CT w/Contrast of neck and upper chest. Absolutely nothing that any of these tests have shown that would lead them to my consistent throat pain. My throat pain is very deep like below my cricoid cartilidge most of the time but also throat pain is sometimes hard to tell where exactly it comes from but any movement such as running or bike ride seems to make it worse as well as eating. Nothing seems to help it feel better. This has now been 7 weeks of constant pain. the left side(side i didnt have styloid snipped) is 5.5cm long and since wisdom teeth the stabbing pain in throat unilaterally has been there, but the left side is worse and prior never had any left sided pain.

Reading a lot about vagus nerve. If this was causing my pain is it better to calm down the nerve or activate it more through breathing, cold water, etc that the literature talks about. Would Gabapentin make this worse or better?

Hi mikeg,

Your remaining styloid could be causing all your throat pain. It’s not uncommon for one styloid to be removed/shortened & then the remaining elongated styloid starts “rearing its ugly head”. The remaining styloid can even cause cross over symptoms to the side that’s already had surgery. Since you know your remaining styloid is elongated, & the tests you’ve just had rule out other options, I recommend you consider having that left styloid removed (as close to the skull base as possible) & the stylohyoid ligament, too, especially if it has any calcification on it. I expect your throat pain will subside once the styloid is no longer in your neck irritating nerves.

My issue is where is i have been to UofM and met Dr. Ondrey, i have been to Mayo, i have seen several ENT’s locally. The one who cut 1/3 of my right side off is no longer in my area and that was his first styloid procedure in which he didn’t take nearly enough off. I have been met with pretty much nothing no one agreeing with me. Dr. Ondrey confirmed i have long styloids but never offered any removal. The ENT i saw at Mayo did not even believe in Eagles and would not refer me to anyone else and i drove 13 hours for nothing.

So sorry that you’re getting all this pain. Mayo doctors don’t seem to ‘believe’ in ES generally so wouldn’t take too much notice of that, but very frustrating for you to have such a long & wasted trip. Is there anyone you could travel to on our list, or would if be worth sending scans to one of the doctors who does phone consults, like Dr Samji or Dr Cognetti- it could be worth getting their opinion? Have you had a recent CT done to see if anything’s changed?

Hi mikeg -

I know this isn’t super close to you, but Dr. Andrew Coughlin in Omaha, NE, has received great reviews from our member Painfree. Here is a link to the thread:

An appointment w/ him might be worthwhile.