Hi Angels,

It's important to know that the root canaled tooth that you had was infected for several years as all root canaled teeth contain infectious bacteria inside the microscopic canals. The rc procedure does not cure the infection in the tooth as it cannot reach into those tiny canals. The rc procedure is done to attempt to keep the infected tooth for an uncertain amount of time. The proliferation of the bacteria entered your sinus long before you developed symptoms as symptoms are usually delayed when an infection is able to drain, as it is when it is in the sinus. It is when the sinus becomes overwhelmed with bacteria and either it stops draining or the immune system says I've had enough of this that symptoms become more obvious.

So in addition to the tooth being infected, the surrounding area of bone/tissue and the sinus were also infected. This is a typical occurrence for root canaled teeth and the upper teeth frequently infect the sinus.

Due to the long standing infection and then the trauma of the oral surgery and the bone graft, this site and your sinus may take a long time to calm down. The complications that can arise would mostly likely be from the site still being infected if the surgical debridement of it was incomplete and/or the site was not healthy enough to receive the bone graft. Did your oral surgeon comment on the communication between the tooth and the sinus as being large or small? Did he perform a sinus closure?

You should also know that a dental implant that is put in to replace a root canaled tooth is at a higher risk for failure due to the long standing infection in that tooth because the bacteria had altered the integrity of the bone. A bone graft does not take the place of your own bone. The graft stimulates your body to grow bone to integrate with it and become all of your own bone. However, the site and sinus has to be healthy, free of infection and the patient has to be healthy enough to grow adequate bone for a dental implant to successfully integrate into the new bone. So it is ideal not to rush into placing a dental implant in this site until it is certain that the infection is cleared and the bone is growing well. This could take several months depending on the circumstances.

I assume you have a follow up with the oral surgeon within 10 days from the surgery? If not, then it would behoove you to see him 7-10 days post op and if your symptoms get worse, see him sooner.

I hope this information helps...
Bryanna