Cheek Thickening/Swelling & Tenderness - Tooth Or Shingles?

[joko]

NB: im wondering if i need to see a doc or dentist.

i noticed the other day that my right cheek is thicker than my left.
i thought it was odd, but i've always noticed photos on that side always look a bit different, but it was never that clear why.
so i assumed it was just 'one of those things'
then i realised it was very sore if i pinched it - one finger inside, one out
the other side hurt doesnt at all
its not hurting or bothering me, but obviously this is not 'right'

so - 2 possible causes

i has shingles recently - with a crop on that cheek.
is this post herpetic pain? i havent had any other PHP that i can think of really - it was a fairly mild case - although i was late dealing with it.
thing is, ive a very high tolerance for pain, and am almost always in some pain, so i have a lot of pain related meds with could have just been blocking this so i never 'noticed' it.

as i say theres no pain unless i do that pinch, & it doesnt bother me - so i also dont know how long its been like that - i noticed it quite by chance.

or
i had bad toothache last year which went away with antibiotics, but my dentist said, it hasnt gone away completely, on an xray there was a dark bit in my jaw, which he said was infection, and since it hadnt cleared fully after 3 lots of antibiotics, id prob have to have the tooth pulled.

obviously i didnt want that, as itd leave a gap - and also with covid, there was a lot of palava and travel to have it removed, etc - and i was also shielding
so i left it, figuring when covid was over id deal with it then.

so - is this weird cheek thickening/swelling due to the tooth or the shingles?

any thoughts?

thanks :)
the pain etc went away for that, but

[joko]

NB: theres no pain in my jaw/gums - unless i press hard deep under the affected tooth, my gums are not sore, red or swollen.
the tooth itself is not sore now, but it is sensitive (its a crown/cap) so its only sensitive if i tap it, or with certain types of chewing, which shows its still bad deep inside, but it doesnt really hurt or bother me.

[emmie]

see a dentist, it might need that tooth being pulled.


so suggest your first port of call is a dentist, then if he/she
suggest you see your doctor too then make that afterwards

[emmie]

when my face was extremely swollen i ended up in A&E
and then had surgery at the hospital for infected teeth, i was in there for almost a week, not good at all

[Peter Pedant]

lock down will be lock out soon
so make an appt with the dentist first - they do more than teeth ( AB speak) - they know a bit about oral pathology as well
Mine had a PhD in it ( oral doo-dah - more moolah in GDP. back to AB speak)

since it goes - skin-buccinator-oral mucosa, I can confidently say I have no idea why you have cheek thickening or what it is from

[Sqad]

Neither.
No big deal and you dont need to consult anybody.
Absence of pain and temperature with a long history rules out an infection.
Post shingles pain.........not wit swelling.
So what is the likeliest cause?
Asymmetry of the muscle in the cheek, the Buccinator which has probably developed over the past few years.
No treatment needed...no big deal...no need for a dental or medical consultation.
Don't keep feeling your cheek.

[joko]

thanks all

sqad - thanks, but why is it so sore though? surely it shouldnt be sore compared to the other side

[Sqad]

Yes it should cus you keep fiddling.
I must apologise, as I got the wrong facial muscle,as it is the Masseter and not the Buccinator, but my answer remains the same.

[joko]

i havent been fiddling with it, lol

it is VERY sore to press. its definitely not me fiddling

and i just looked it up, id say its both those places, most of the cheek really

[Sqad]

Well,you have my opinion.......for what it is worth-;)

[Peter Pedant]

oh that far back - I dont stick my fingers into peoples mouths nowadays, and any way I had to take anatomy three times
o god what mess.
you know it takes two weeks 6 h a day to copy out Lumley Crumley? I do coz I did it

[Peter Pedant]

for what it is worf? gold pure gold sqaddus
anyway - you are ENT innit? so open wide ( not the wallet that is!) are the first worlds you say ?

peals to swine

[Peter Pedant]

words dammit - words fail me