Hi Bryanna,

Paranoid patient here. So, first, follow-up. The dentist said the "short crown" was likely due to my gums being more swollen when he placed it due to the lupus. It touched the gums when he placed it. He's wants to give it another month or two, and then said he will replace it free of charge if it still isn't right.

So, I had my extraction Monday. It was my first molar on my lower left, and the roots remaining from a previous second molar extraction, plus placing 2 implants. The extraction was really tough-I have very, very strong bones. He had to use the hammer/chisel thing for a good 10-15 minutes total, and take the tooth out in like 7-8 pieces over the course of an hour and 15 minutes or longer. I was up all night in pain despite having oxycodone (I take Vicodin for my lupus, so it's not strong enough for post surgical pain). It was the worst dental procedure I've ever had-the oral surgeon said it was a very, very hard extraction. He hates root canals (one of the reasons I like him) and was saying that anytime a tooth has had a root canal they're a nightmare to get out. The tooth was extracted because there was a crack in it, and I didn't want to wait until it hurt.

So my question is, I'm at about 36 hours and my cheek is HUGE! I'm nervous that something is wrong because it's never been this bad after dental work. I don't have signs of an infection-no warmth or fever, no discharge (except a little blood), and I'm on antibiotics. I have also had limits on what I can take anti-inflammatory wise, so I can only take around 6-8 Advil in 24 hours, so it can't really take down the swelling fast enough. He wanted me in this one anti inflammatory, but my lupus docs shot him down.

Is this normal? When should I worry? Luckily, I have all week off work to recover.

Thank for always sharing your knowledge, I appreciate it.