Hi pdne,
Ok so you had that bad tooth removed today... wow.... kudos to you!! I am so glad to hear that this OS was thorough in his surgery and did not try to talk you into the apico!!!!! What a nightmare that would have been :/
I tend to agree with him on the possibility of the one root draining into the sinus as it does appear that way on the panorex and it would coincide with the fact that you had not developed a fistula. Remember I said the infection may be draining and that's why the tooth didn't hurt?? So I'm glad he mentioned it.
It is imperative for you to follow his post op instructions to the "T" and refrain from anything other than a soft nutritious diet for at least a few days because you do not want pain on the other side from over chewing there.
I would expect you to have some discomfort in that area and possibly still in the cheek area for several days due to the inflammation ..... hopefully you won't but you may. Did he put you on an antibiotic? When do you see him again?
Regarding the placement of a dental implant in that area.... this is not something that should be rushed into as this site is going to take months to heal. If the healing goes uneventfully, then it would be wise to have an xray done of this area in 4 months and then again in 6 months. If the implant is placed too soon, it could reignite pain in that same area because it needs time to calm down and become healthy again. Allow your body to grown new bone into the bone graft for several months so that there is no question about the solidity. This also gives adequate time for the sinus to heal and hopefully be free of inflammation. It is ideal to place the implant within one year of the extraction and graft as any longer than that might result in a questionable outcome as the sinus membrane will begin to descend down.
I am so impressed with your rapid decision to deal with this as you have. I am hopeful that you will be pain free sooner than later.
Keep in touch as we want to know how you are doing in the next few days!
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdne
Ok, so I went to the oral surgeon's office today.
I told him my story and his diagnosis was that the pain could be due to the tooth infection or it might not be. But he agreed the tooth was infected. He offered an apicoectomy or an extraction as two possible options. I listened while he explained both options. It seemed to me that extraction offered a higher success rate than the apicoectomy. If I did the apicoectomy, there's a chance the tooth could fail and I would end up extracting it anyway.
I opted for the extraction because I wanted more certainty and besides with the implant, I'll still have a "tooth" there eventually.
I went the general anesthesia route and it was amazingly fast. I don't remember drifting off or waking up, compared to previous surgeries I had. It was literally like someone hit pause and then play again. One moment they were sticking the needle into my arm, and the next minute I see him stitching me up. Amazing job, no pain at all other than the normal swollen feeling.
The oral surgeon said he removed everything including the ligament and cleaned up everything. Prior to the operation, he did a cone beam scan and said he didn't see anything noteworthy with the sinus, just maybe a thickening of the mucus as a reaction to the tooth infection. He said it was possible one of the roots was draining into the sinus maybe that's why my condition was stable for so long. Otherwise normally, you would develop gum fistulas.
After the operation, he said he didn't have to deal with the sinus at all as there was still a bone socket there. From the film, there was about 7mm of bone left in that area.
He did do some bone grafting in preparation for a future implant. I'm suppose to go back in four months to get the implant. He said he might have to do a sinus lift then also but we'll see in four months. But it looks like it'll take a full 8 months before I get the actual tooth as you need to wait an additional four months after they put the implant in.
Anyway, it looks like I just need to sit back and wait for things to subside and hopefully, that original pain will fade.
Special thanks to Bryanna for your advice and comments. I really hope this was all worth it, but even if it doesn't, it was worth a shot anyway, especially considering all the other things I tried.
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