Hi sarahgee,
Okay to help clarify...... the infection was diagnosed as a gingival abscess. In dental terminology that simply means that the infection from the inside of the tooth was draining into the gum tissue. It does not mean you had a gum infection. This occurrence is typically seen with root canaled teeth.
The root of a lower pre molar, especially the second pre molar, is in close proximity to the mental foramen. This is a small hole in the jaw bone that allows certain nerves and blood vessels to pass through it. This would show up as a dark gray area on an xray and it is fairly low in the mandible. Perhaps that is what the dentist was referring to?
So am I understanding you correctly in that he did not scrape the socket clean and remove the periodontal ligament? Did he irrigate the socket with saline?
I ask because the discomfort that you describe in the location of where the root tip would have been is classic of the socket not being debrided. So you may want to talk to him about that.
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahgee944
Hi Bryanna
Many thanks for your concern and help - it's much appreciated.
My dentist has always been careful to keep me in the picture about what is happening in my mouth, so I was aware of residual bacteria in root canal fillings.
The x-ray was taken when the symptoms first appeared and before I took any antibiotics. It showed no infection, and no cyst, at the base of the tooth (I used to work in radiography department - I could see there was no shadow when shown the x-ray).
It was diagnosed as a gingival abscess.
It was my own dentist who treated me.
He was concerned not to disturb the nerve (the bit which showed up as a tiny white blob near the root and which I don't remember the technical term for, but it deals with sensation to the lip) when extracting so did no additional exploration after taking the tooth and fragments out. He put in a gauze pad.
There was no cyst as far as I know. Certainly didn't show up on the x-ray.
A major concern for me is the length of time this is taking to 'heal', especially given I am not taking antibiotics because of my allergic reactions to two of them. I'm not sure how well my body can fight off the infection without some pharma assistance.
I think, given the issues you have raised for me, that I will ring the dentist today for a telephone consultation to check these issues out.
Many thanks. You have been really helpful in identifying issues for me!
It's much appreciated.
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