Hi tyndi,
Root canal therapy does not cure an infected tooth. It is done to allow the patient to retain their tooth for an undetermined amount of time. It is inevitable that the tooth will need to be removed at some point. When a dentist tells a patient that root canal will "save" their tooth it does not mean cure it means retain or keep.
The ENT has already confirmed that the sinus may be involved. This is typical of what happens with upper teeth that are root canaled as the infection spreads beyond the tooth. Re treating the tooth will not cure the infection inside of the tiny canals that cannot be cleaned out. Therefore the infection will continue to invade the sinuses. Not to frighten you but to inform you..... your brain is only about 4 inches from the root of this tooth. It is possible for the infection to spread to that area also.
The only way to cure the infection and try to eradicate it from the sinus is to remove the tooth. Anything else is just putting a band aid on a potentially serious infection.
You mentioned two other things.... one a post and two a fracture. It is common for a post to perforate a fragile root canaled tooth causing the tooth to fracture. This issue in of itself is a source of infection.
The antibiotic will temporarily subside the symptoms because it reduces the inflammation but it will not cure the problem. It is best to have this tooth removed while you are on the antibiotic. It is best to have an oral surgeon remove this tooth and clean out the infection rather than a general dentist.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyndi
Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum and I have concerns about my infected root canal.
I have a root canal and a crown on tooth #4 that was done about 2 years ago. I am 25 now if that matters. 2 weeks ago I had pain every time I would chew on that side where my crown is at and the pain got worst every day.
It wasnt a super awful pain but it was still bothering me a lot!
I went to the general dentist last friday and he said it may be infected however the x-ray didn't show an infection. He also said there may be a possible fracture by just looking at the post inside my tooth. He said the post seems to be very deep in my gums =( I guess the previous dentist didn't do a good job when putting the crown.
The dentist prescribed antibiotics (amoxicillin) and felt wayy better in 2 days and he also referred me to an endodontist.
So I went to the endodontist today and he performed several test on the tooth and came to the conclusion that is infected and said that is affecting my sinuses too.
He also said that the tooth may be fractured because he can see some bone loss =( and mentioned the dentist who did my root canal probably had a hard time doing the root canal..i dont know how he can tell.
Anyway he wants to do a root canal retreat and said he will also check for a possible fracture. He said he cant see the fracture by just looking at the x-ray.
Now my question is this...why would i get another root canal if at the end the tooth may be fractured and it will get pulled out.
Is there another procedure that he can do just to check if the tooth is fractured instead of doing a root canal first? I feel its a waste of time and money for me of course if at the end I will lose my tooth anyway =(
The worst part is that I am about to lose my dental insurance and my next app is until October 18th so I will def not have it by then. The retreat said it was $227 with insurance so Im guessing that it will cost approx $850 without insurance since I am only paying 20%. This is sooo frustating!
Should I have him do another root canal? Should I call again and ask if he can check if there is a fracture before doing anything else?
Any help I will appreciate it.
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