One sided head/face pain - stress?

[Humly]

Hi folks. Just wondering if anyone can help. I have been getting pain on one side of my face, on the cheekbone, teeth, jaw and headaches on my temple. Been to the dentist as the teeth have been hurting quite a bit and they are fine. My dentist tell me its probably all caused by stress and that they sound like tension headaches. I've been taking painkillers all the time which havent been having much effect.

I just dont know what to do. I am getting so wound up about it I am making everything worse. Is a trip to the doctors in order or should I just ride it out. Any advice or your own experiences would be appreciated.

[joannap]

i had a constant headache for 3 years and face pain for 6 months after that and i wanted to stick my head in the oven lol. all stress/tension - it sounds like you are grinding your teeth in the night and that this is causing your symptoms - classic signs include toothache etc. Easy to say but the more you get wound up about it - the more tension you are adding hence more pain. I had to learn to accept mine and they gradually lessened. At the moment i have the face pain back and under my eye is swollen - the gp wants to refer me to ent but i think it is just tension again.

In the day - try to keep your shoulders and jaw relaxed - your teeth should never touch unless you are eating. Taking painkillers can cause rebound headaches - the headache clinic told me to drink 8 glasses water a day, relax as much as possible, massage the area and take painkillers only if really severe. syndol is good for tension but try not to take every day. 3 painkillers at once is better than taking 2 separate lots as it gives the pain a big hit.

the more you relax - the more it will go but probably not overnight. x

[Humly]

Thank you. I can just about cope with the headaches as I've suffered all my life with them, its the tooth pain I cant handle. I have a mouth guard from the dentist already. I am feeling so low at the moment that I just feel like crying all the time. I want to try and relax but I'm on edge so might have to bite the bullet and go to the docs.

[Ddcoo]

It might also be sinus related, I get cheekbone pain and toothache when I have sinus trouble. I also wear a gumshield at night as I grind my teeth when asleep.