Originally Posted by Bryanna

Hi meteor,

I am in the dental field and I am sorry you are going through such dental turmoil. You have endured more dentistry than most people will endure in their entire lifetime. My intention is to help you become better informed so that you have a better understanding of what is happening to you.

In spite of what your dentists and doctors may have (mis) informed you of, your dental problems are not difficult to figure out and they are typically seen in every dental practice in varying degrees.

Dentists perform root canals in an attempt to "retain" a tooth for an undetermined amount of time. The rc procedure irrelevant of how many times it is done, cannot and does not cure the infection that resides inside of the tooth. The only areas of the tooth that are (somewhat) accessible during the rc procedure are the large canals that are visible to the dentist. This leaves many, many hundreds of tiny canals that are not accessible and will therefore continue to harbor necrotic, infected nerve tissue. ALL root canaled teeth are chronically inflamed and infected irrelevant of who does the rc procedure, how well it is done or how many times it is done.

Root amputations are done in a attempt to remove the most infected root. However, it still leaves the rest of the tooth which is also infected. So it is only a matter of time before visible symptoms of the chronic infection occur.

If a dentist tells you that it is impossible to feel discomfort, pain or soreness associated with a root canaled tooth, he is either of the old school thinking that the tooth "magically" became well after the rc procedure or he is not disclosing the whole truth to you. It is in fact not unusual for people to complain of pain in their root canaled teeth and/or in their face or jaw for the reasons that I explained to you above and for the reasons I am going to give you.

A serious long term concern with keeping infected teeth has to do with the systemic (whole body) connection to your oral health. The bacteria that resides in our mouth and in our jawbone travels through our blood stream and into our organs..... thyroid, brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, bladder..... etc. The bacteria also can spread to bone other than our jaw bone.

The only way to cure an infected tooth is to remove the source of the infection which is the tooth itself. Anything other than an extraction cannot and will not cure the problem. The longer the infected tooth or piece of infected tooth remains in the jaw bone, the more advanced the infection and bone deterioration becomes. This explains the "deep irritation" they find when these teeth are removed and why you still have pain in your jaw. The bacteria has set up microscopic residence in your bone and this can be very difficult to eradicate completely. In cases like yours advanced or widespread nerve pain is often the result of retaining infected teeth for a long period of time.

People who are reluctant to remove their infected teeth for whatever personal reason.... fear, finances, vanity, etc..... are often sent to a pain clinic or neurologist. In certain cases this referral might be a helpful solution but only after the source of the problem, which is the teeth, are removed. Otherwise the chronic problem continues to be progressive and the medications are only at best putting a band-ade over your physical symptoms. Most of the meds are not without side effects and can be addictive.

If you feel frustrated with the dental care that you have been receiving you might want to try a dentist who belongs to the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. Their website is IAOMT.org
This is a world wide organization where dentists who feel there is more to dentistry than just tooth carpentry have extended their education beyond dental school and share in the belief that the oral health is directly connected to the entire body. Perhaps you could visit their site and look for a dentist someplace convenient for you to travel to.

Other sites you could google and explore for valid information regarding root canals... Dr Mercola and Dr George Meinig. Type either name in google along with the words root canals.

Again I am sorry you are going through all of this. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, so please don't despair. Please do as much research as you can so you become well informed as that will lead you to make a decision that is in your best interest.

Bryanna