Vertigo from dental treatment is a common complaint among my patients. Many of my patients experienced vertigo at or after the dentist. In this article, I will share five possible causes of dental vertigo.
Causes of Dental Vertigo
1. Vertigo from Neck Strain
When you are reclined in the dental chair with your head turned to the side, that is a very awkward position for your neck. If you remain that way for more than a few minutes, your neck can come out of alignment. This especially affects the first and second cervical vertebrae, the C1 atlas bone and C2 axis bone.
If you notice that your neck is making crunching, popping, grinding, clicking, or clunking sounds when you turn your head from side to side, then you may have cervical vertigo. To learn more about this root cause, click here.
2. Vertigo from TMJ
Very close to the neck is the temporomandibular joint. This jaw joint is also known as TMJ. Some TMJ issues after dental work include a TMJ sprain, inflammation of the TMJ, or TMJ alignment issues.
Opening your mouth extremely wide as you might do at the dentist can cause a sprain to the TMJ. Other activities that can sprain the TMJ include yawning extremely wide or taking a bite out of a really big sandwich. TMJ sprain as a cause of dental vertigo is more likely if you have to open your mouth really wide.
Another risk factor for TMJ as a cause of dental vertigo is having force or pressure applied to your lower teeth or lower jaw. This may occur during dental surgery or more extensive procedures involving the lower teeth.
3. Vertigo from BPPV
BPPV is the most common inner ear cause of vertigo. If you already have BPPV, then reclining in the dental chair may trigger a spin for you. The spin should hopefully only last for a minute or two, but maybe quite intense. You may spin again or your spin may get worse when you tilt your head to the side while reclined. If you have BPPV, you may also spin again for a minute or two when you stand up after you finish.
If you do not already have BPPV, certainly the drilling involved with some dental surgeries can cause a new onset of BPPV. The crystals in your inner ear can get shaken loose from the vibration of drilling.
If you have a new onset of BPPV from dental care, you may feel weird after the dental work. Your strange feelings may get better over time, but may not resolve completely until you have the BPPV successfully treated.
Someone may experience dental vertigo due to a current case of BPPV, or new onset of BPPV. In either case, BPPV treatment is the best next step.
4. Vertigo from Viral Attacks
If you have a history of cold sores (or fever blisters) around your mouth or lips, then dental work can trigger an oral herpes outbreak. This can happen even if you have not experienced any cold sores for many years.
This viral attack triggered by dental work can cause cold sores to show up on your lips. The oral herpes virus may even travel down your vestibular nerve to attack your inner ear. That causes the second most common inner ear cause of vertigo, vestibular neuritis.
In this case, vestibular neuritis is caused by a virus. This type of vertigo usually starts a day or more after the dental procedure and is intense.
Antiviral medication can treat or help prevent viral vestibular neuritis. If you are prone to viral attacks after dental procedures, you may want to discuss pre-medicating with your doctor or dentist.
5. Vertigo from Bacterial Infection or Abscess in upper molar
If you end up getting a bacterial infection or abscess, especially in your upper molar, that can cause dental vertigo. Similar to the viral attack, the bacterial infection or abscess may not occur right away. Bacterial infections may build up a day or more after the dental procedure.
In that case, antibiotics would likely be prescribed by your dentist or oral surgeon to address the bacterial infection. However, some antibiotics are ototoxic. This means that certain medications used to treat bacterial infections may cause temporary or permanent damage to your ears and vestibular system.
Also in some cases, the bacterial infection can spread out and affect your vestibular system, which is located near your upper molars. Vestibular neuritis caused by a bacterial infection is a complication to dental work that does affect some unfortunate people. Not everyone who gets a bacterial infection or abscess after dental work will get a bacterial case of vestibular neuritis.
I recommend you always read up on medication side effects when you get a new prescription filled. Sometimes your doctor can recommend another antibiotic medication that is not ototoxic. Other times, your doctor may decide that the benefit of the medication to fight the infection is worth the potential risk of damaging your ears.
I hope this summary of some of the causes of dental vertigo is helpful. If you would like to learn more about how I help people with dental vertigo and/or dizziness, schedule a consultation today!
To learn more about the connection between teeth and vertigo, visit this page.
For tips, if you get dizzy at the dentist, check out this article.
Disclaimer
This blog is provided for informational and educational purposes only. The content and any comments by Dr. Kim Bell, DPT are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The details of any case mentioned in this post represent a typical patient that Dr. Bell might see and do not describe the circumstances of a specific individual.
Hello I would like to set a consultation up I’m currently dealing with off balance issues after having veneers put on they cracked a tooth and I been suffering since
Hi Roberta,
I am sorry to hear about this!
Please click here to learn how to Request a Consultation.
Thank you,
Kim Bell, DPT
I had an abscessed tooth. So two weeks ago it was drained and packed with medication. I came back 2 weeks later, which was 2 days ago, I was in the chair for about an hour and 20 minutes tilted backwards. He had to complete the root canal which was rather complex. I’ve been dizzy ever since. Anybody else? What should I do? I don’t want to call him at home and I don’t know whether he can see me again, probably not cheap. Dental insurance is all used up. What to do?
Hello Dr Bell
3months ago I had crowns put on my upper central incisors, I was in the chair for 1 hr without a pillow. I have a small mouth 33mm and it was stretched open wide. I have no history of ENT nor TMJ issues. The next day I woke up with extreme dizziness which lasted for 4 days with tinnitus. I took a 1 hr flight and my symptoms got worse, clicking, blocked ears, fullness. I was diagnosed with Eustachian Tube Dysfunction and I’m on steroid nasal drops. The tubes still aren’t opening and closing properly. It’s very frustrating. Can you tell me what you think might have caused the acute onset of ETD?
Hi Jane,
I am sorry to hear what you are going through!
I cannot speculate on what might have caused the acute onset of ETD, since I do not know you or the details of your case.
However, I suggest that you consult and OtoNeurologist or Neurotologist or Otologist. You can search for a provider at Vestibular.org.
I hope that you find answers and relief soon!
Sincerely,
Kim Bell, DPT
Hi Jane I had the same thing happen 7 days ago. I’m still dizzy.
What did you do to make it better?
I had a root canal started the other day and woke up the next day dizzy and nauseous. My theory is that vertigo may have been simmering and the position and vibration shook things loose. Needless to say I am worried about finishing the procedure. The dental field seems very j educated about this. I wonder if taking a meclizine before the procedure would cut down on the possibility of it happening again.
Hi I had a root canal done on an abscessed tooth. 2 weeks ago it was drained and packed and then I went back again just a couple of days ago for him to finish up and do everything he had to do for the root canal. I was in the chair tilted back for about an hour and 20 minutes. I’ve had dizzy spells on and off since then. Did you ever get yours resolved? Would love to hear from you if you could. Thanks!
I took meclizine and my dizziness got worse
I had a dental implant two years ago. Due to the fact that my bone density in my upper right cheek was shrinking I needed to have the back two teeth made into an implant. I had to have artificial bone put in and my sinus lifted. The whole thing took about five months. After the procedure was completed I woke up next day not being able to get out of bed. I was nauseous and had to be helped out of bed. Luckily I had a PT appointment that day and she did the epley maneuver. I felt like I was having a seizure. This alleviated the worse of it. But the dizziness never completely went away. I’ve seen just about all the doctors and have had just about every test. My latest procedure is Botox. Do you have any suggestion?
Hi Mary,
You may be interested in this article that I wrote on the connection between Teeth & Vertigo.
You may want to find a vestibular physical therapist to assess you. You may require different types of maneuvers or exercises to recover from this incident.
I wrote this article discussing five reasons why the Epley maneuver may not help.
You can also talk to your primary care provider to find out if medication would be appropriate for your current situation.
I hope you feel better soon!
I HAD A CROWN PUT IN SEVERAL WEEKS AGO. I HAD JAW DISCOMFORT AFTER.
I HAVE NOW BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH NYSTAGMUS.
COULD THIS BE RELATED?
It’s hard to say. It may or may not be related. Either way, I encourage you to seek appropriate medical care to address the nystagmus.
Hello,
I have bppv which has been treated to some degree. I will be going to the dentist for the first time since and was wondering if a sedation (actually put under) by the dental office would help. Or does that increase or suppress the vertigo due to positional changes?
Hi Sharon,
I wrote a blog with tips for people who are worried about getting dizzy at the dentist. You can find that here.
I have never had vertigo until I had a Wisdom tooth extracted. It now occurs when I have a cold and lightly blocked eustachian tube in my Right ear.
In the past I never had travel sickness under normal circumstance; even in rough seas, aircraft or Theme Park rides. I even had a Pilot’s license for a few years also.
Once it comes on that is it! Travel sickness tablets – nothing stops it.
Ever since I had a crown place on my left upper molar, I have been having vertigo almost every week. It’s been a year!
I have tried so many things and consulted many doctors to help understand but nothing has worked.
Now I’m thinking it’s this crown I got that is causing vertigo attacks. It’s been a year with ongoing vertigo that lasts 4 hours approximately.
Hi Tami,
I’m sorry to hear this!
I have a YouTube video that speaks to different causes of vertigo attacks that lasts for hours.
You can find my video at the following link:
Severe Vertigo Attack Lasting for Hours? Elusive Root Causes
https://youtu.be/bJUZIl9WXdw
I hope that helps!
I have a small mouth and for years my dentist has asked me to hyper-extend my neck backwards while he worked on my teeth. Afterwards I felt nauseous and I lost most of my hearing in one ear which doctors could not explain. Today I found your site and learned a lot. Next time he asks me to lean back “a little farther, just a little farther” I will ask him to recline the dental chair instead.
Five years ago I had a wisdom tooth abscess at the same time I started to get visual vertigo, 2 days later severe tinnitus started!
The dentist gave me antibiotics at the time which cleared up the infection but the vertigo and tinnitus never went away.
The doctor called it labyrinthitis and said it will last 6 weeks but it is still with me 5 years later!
I’ve seen vertigo and audiology specialists, had MRI scans of the inner ear. They never got to the bottom of it.
I always said it was connected to the tooth abscess but doctors said that was incidental.
Recently After a bout of covid a few weeks ago I have had a bad run of infections including the same wisdom tooth area getting very painful. Vertigo/tinnitus got worse plus bad earache, jaw pain, headaches/eye ache.
The dentist has given me 2 courses of antibiotics, pain hasn’t stopped. An X-ray it turns out my wisdom tooth is embedded/fused in my jaw on a diagonal to my teeth against nerves.
I’m now wondering if this has been the root of all the problems for the last 5 years!?
Many thanks, Eddy
Hi Eddy,
I am glad that you found this blog. It is possible that you have done your own detective work.
It sounds like it is worth looking into!
If you can get the abscess taken care of and take the pressure off the nerve, your vertigo and tinnitus might improve.
I certainly hope you feel better soon!
I had the start of my dental implant done back in October. I had terrible mouth pain until the foreign object was removed. Since then, I have had numbness in my face and lightheadedness. I wonder if the beginning of the implant procedure caused this?
Maybe it hurt a nerve?
I had an infection in my root.
Was drilled through to clean out the root.
My lip and chin were numb for a good six months.
Hopefully it is ok by now!
How do I find a dentist who doesn’t need to put me in a steep, vertical, upside down position? My current dentist says “I have to stand you on your head” in order to do my job. This seems ridiculous and makes me extremely dizzy. I have asked him not to do that, but he doesn’t listen. How do I find a dentist who can do his job without needing to put me upside down?
I had a tooth extracted via oral surgery a week ago. I am suffering from unsteadiness and light headedness still. It’s crippling. I take 2 ibuprofen every 4 hrs for dental pain that is all my stomach can tolerate