Hi Pamissotired,

I am in the dental field and can offer you some information here.

First let me say that many dentists, in spite of the chronic infection and inflammation in all root canaled teeth, do not consider root canaled teeth to be unhealthy. With that said, they focus on the "carpentry" aspect of dental care more so than the biological or pathological aspect.

I am going to re-post some of your thread and reply to you in bold type as this makes it easier to follow.

<< My upper jaw hurts from canine to wisdom tooth.>>
THIS IS TYPICAL WHEN THERE IS AN INFLAMED AND/OR INFECTED TOOTH AS THE INFLAMMATION IS IRRITATING THE DIFFERENT BUNDLES OF NERVES THAT CONNECT TO THE TEETH.

<<The cheek hurts same side, feels like there is a pressure in there.>>
THIS TOO IS TYPICAL AS THE INFLAMMATION IS ALSO PRESENT IN THE LIGAMENT THAT SURROUND THE INFLAMED TOOTH MAKING IT SWOLLEN. SIMILAR TO HAVE A SPLINTER EMBEDDED IN YOUR FINGER AND THE SURROUNDING TISSUE GETS SWOLLEN AND SORE.

<<Recently the ride side of nose has started hurting up to my eye and last two days the eye has started hurting.>>

THIS INDICATES THAT THE INFLAMMATION AND BACTERIA MAY BE SPREADING INTO YOUR SINUS.

<<I have a root canal on the first premolar after my canine. It has recently been redone. No change.>>

NO SURPRISE THAT YOU HAVE A ROOT CANALED TOOTH IN THAT QUADRANT OF YOUR MOUTH GIVEN THE SYMPTOMS THAT YOU ARE HAVING AS ALL ROOT CANALED TEETH ARE CHRONICALLY INFECTED, INFLAMED AND UNHEALTHY. RETREATING THE TOOTH WITH ANOTHER ROOT CANAL DOES NOT REMOVE THE INFECTED NERVE TISSUE FROM INSIDE OF THE CANALS THAT ARE NEVER ACCESSIBLE.

<< No one knows what could be causing this pain. I've have four courses if antibiotics which sometimes seem to help.>>

YES THEY ACTUALLY DO. HOWEVER THEY ARE FOCUSED ON THE "CARPENTRY" ASPECT OF THE TOOTH AND NOT THE BIOLOGY OF WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH YOUR TOOTH. ANTIBIOTICS WILL, FOR A LIMITED TIME, TEMPORARILY SUBSIDE THE INFLAMMATION BUT CANNOT CURE THE INFECTION. AGAIN, ALL DENTISTS KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE.

<< So my dentist thought it was probably the rc tooth.>>

HE'S RIGHT. BUT HESITANT TO TELL YOU TO REMOVE THE TOOTH.

<< Been to endo he says there is no sign of infection around the tooth,>>

THE ENDO KNOWS THAT ORAL INFECTIONS WITH RC TEETH RARELY SHOW RADIO GRAPHIC SIGNS OF THE INFECTION UNTIL IT HAS PROLIFERATED WAY BEYOND THE TOOTH. UNLESS THE TOOTH HAS DECAY OR RADIO GRAPHIC PATHOLOGY LARGE ENOUGH TO BE SEEN ON A DENTAL X-RAY, THE TOOTH WILL LOOK "NORMAL" RADIO GRAPHICALLY. THE HUNDREDS OF TINY CANALS THAT HARBOR DEAD, INFECTED NERVE TISSUE CANNOT BE SEEN ON DENTAL XRAYS UNTIL THE CANALS BECOME DECAYED FROM THE INFECTION.

<<He redrilled everything got what he said were potential branching nerves.

IRRELEVANT OF WHAT HE DID TO THIS TOOTH, HE WAS NOT ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE TINY CANALS. SO WHAT HIS STATEMENT ABOUT GETTING EVERYTHING OUT SIMPLY MEANS... HE FOUND BACTERIA, DEBRIS AND SOME NECROSIS INSIDE OF THE CANALS THAT WERE VISIBLE TO HIM AND HE WORKED ON CLEANING ALL OF THAT OUT.

<< I felt pretty good for three days after he did this, then I ate something chewy and all the pain was back. >>

HIS TREATMENT AND THE ANTIBIOTICS TEMPORARILY REDUCED THE INFLAMMATION WHICH GAVE YOU SOME TEMPORARY RELIEF. AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE A SPLINTER EMBEDDED IN YOUR FINGER WHICH HAS BECOME INFLAMED AND INFECTED.... REMOVE A PIECE OF THAT SPLINTER AND THE AREA FEELS A BIT BETTER... ONLY TO BECOME INFLAMED ALL OVER AGAIN BECAUSE THE SPLINTER IS STILL PRESENT.

<<The trouble is no one knows for sure what tooth if it is even a tooth is bothering me.>>

YES THEY DO KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEM HAS ORIGINATED FROM. WHAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS WITH RC TEETH IS THE INFLAMMATION AND THEN THE BACTERIA SPREADS TO THE ADJACENT TEETH AND IN UPPER TEETH INTO THE SINUS.

<<At my recent appt the endo suggested this isn't tooth pain at all but nerve pain. He's sending me to a neurologist(?) for pain. >>

AT THIS POINT YOU MAY HAVE SOME NEUROLOGICAL ISSUES GOING ON WHICH MORE THAN LIKELY HAVE ORIGINATED FROM THIS DISEASED, INFLAMED TOOTH AS IT SET OFF A PATTERN OF INFLAMMATION AND POSSIBLE PROLIFERATION OF BACTERIA THAT HAS MOVED BEYOND THE TOOTH. TO KEEP THE TOOTH MEANS TO KEEP THE INFECTION. THE LONGER THE TOOTH IS PRESENT THE MORE WIDESPREAD THE PROBLEM WILL BECOME.

<<Personally I just want to start pulling teeth to try something. Only he tells me it phantom pain and extraction won't help.>>

AT THIS TIME IT IS NOT WISE TO REMOVE ANY OTHER TEETH OTHER THAN THE ONE THAT IS ROOT CANALED AND DETERMINE IF THE BACTERIA HAS SPREAD TO THE ADJACENT TEETH AND/OR THE SINUS. IT COULD TAKE MONTHS FOR THE PAIN TO SUBSIDE COMPLETELY AFTER THE TOOTH IS REMOVED AS THE BRANCHES OF NERVES ARE INFLAMED AND IRRITATED. EXTRACTING THE TOOTH WILL CAUSE ADDITIONAL IRRITATION AND TRAUMA THAT IS USUALLY TEMPORARY AND REMOVING THE TOOTH IS THE ONLY HOPE OF REMOVING THE SOURCE OF THE ORIGINAL AND ONGOING PROBLEM.

<<There is a constant dull pain, and if I do a lot of chewing it gets worse. >>

THIS IS DUE TO THE BACTERIA TRAPPED INSIDE OF THOSE TINY CANALS AND TO THE INFLAMED PERIODONTAL LIGAMENT. THINK OF THE SPLINTER EXAMPLE.....

<<Sometimes I think it's the wisdom tooth it is a bit over exposed. Other times it feels like it could be all three teeth on a row premolars and first molar. >>

IT IS THE IRRITATION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE BUNDLES OF NERVES, ETC. DO NOT LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOU TO ROOT CANAL THE REST OF THOSE UPPER TEETH. THAT WILL NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT IT WILL CERTAINLY MAKE IT A WHOLE LOT WORSE. YOUR WISDOM TOOTH COULD HAVE SOME ROOT EXPOSURE WHICH COULD FLARE UP FROM EVERYTHING ELSE THAT IS GOING ON IN THAT QUADRANT OF YOUR MOUTH.

<<My jaw on the same side also hurts often.>>

AGAIN THIS IS FROM THE INFLAMMATION. IT IS ALSO LIKELY DUE TO SOME GRINDING OR CLENCHING OF YOUR TEETH THAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE AWARE OF. ANYTIME WE HAVE AN INFLAMED OR ACHEY TOOTH WE TEND TO CLENCH DOWN ON IT TO MAKE IT FEEL BETTER. SIMILAR TO RUBBING A BRUISE OR BUMP ON YOUR LEG. THIS CLENCHING OR GRINDING CAN FURTHER IRRITATE THE TOOTH LIGAMENTS, FACIAL MUSCLES AND TMJ JOINT.

A neurologist will prescribe medication to mask the pain which will do nothing to alter or cure the problem with the rc tooth. Typically medications are monitored, changed, dosages are altered and before you know it you are on a cocktail of meds while the original problem is still brewing in your head. After awhile, the irritated nerves in the face can become irreversibly damaged and irrelevant of removing the tooth, the neurological problem will become permanent. This is why you may have read here or elsewhere of people having their rc tooth removed only to continue to suffer with some form of neuralgia. The two missing facts generally associated with that scenario is that the rc tooth was retained in the mouth long enough to cause irreversible nerve damage and the extraction of the tooth at that point in time caused unrepairable damage due to the disease that was already present in that bone and surrounding area.

When you decide to remove this tooth, it would be best to see an an oral surgeon for the removal and not let your general dentist perform the extraction as the os is more experienced and knowledgeable about the nerve correlation.

If you want to learn more about the biology and systemic connection of rc teeth .. google Dr Mercola and George Meinig with the words root canal. You can also buy the book entitled The Roots of Disease, Connecting Dentistry to Medicine by Dr Robert Kulacz and Dr Levy.

I hope this information is helpful to you.