Hi justjane,

I cannot say for certain but I would not be surprised if the main reason people continue to have TN <like> pain after an infected and/or root canaled tooth is removed is due to the chronic infection that has diseased and damaged the bone and beyond. The entire area that surrounds an infected tooth can be severely inflamed and very sick. The surgery to remove these teeth and bone has to be very extensive which could result in permanent or temporary nerve damage. It can also be very difficult to eradicate all of the diseased bone because bacteria hides in the nooks and crannies of the bone.

With that said, I cannot help but think that keeping an infected teeth and/or root canaled tooth while treating the TN pain would be counter productive. I think it is unfortunate that all too often people get caught between a rock and a hard place because at that point no matter what they decide to do they may continue to be in pain for the rest of their lives.

This is why I repetitively inform people to think twice about keeping an infected tooth... root canaled or not.