Angels31,

I have copied and pasted just a snippet of my reply. Please read it again so you can become informed about the consequences between the longevity and severity of the infection.

<<It's important to know that the root canaled tooth that you had was infected for several years (SINCE 2010 OR SOONER) as all infected teeth as well as 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 and 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. >>

The swelling that you had in your neck in 2010 and now again 5 years later is most likely associated with the same infection. The species of bacteria may or may not be the same this time or there could be a combination of different species, but the correlation is highly probable. The only way to know what proper antibiotic to prescribe is to culture the bacteria. This should have been done when the tooth was removed. There is also a chance that the bone graft is exacerbating the infection because the area may be too infected to receive the graft. Grafts should ideally be placed in healthy bone with no indication that there is any indication of infection brewing anywhere near the placement. The swelling of your face, eyes, ear pain often indicate significant inflammation within the jaw bone and/or the sinus. The swelling in your neck can also be indicative of the same thing and your lymphatic system may be reacting to the infection and inflammation. Your body is trying to deal with this infection but something (perhaps the graft and/or residual bacteria still in the bone of the extraction site and/or the chronic sinus infection) is preventing the healing from taking place.

Regarding the infection in the jaw bone.... the infection traveled a path through your tooth, into your bone to end up in your sinus. This occurred over a 5 year period or longer.

What did the oral surgeon say about the size or severity of the sinus perforation when he removed the tooth? Did he close the sinus before he placed the bone graft?

The MRI should most definitely include the entire sinus, the ear, the eye, the neck (lymph glands), jaw bone and teeth. There is no real purpose for that MRI if those things are not included.

The hair loss can be due to stress, medication, etc. Your body has been dealing with a lot and it is stressed to the max! Please keep in mind that you had a chronic infection brewing in your tooth, jaw bone and sinus for several years. The symptoms of the sinus began 8 months ago but the bacteria was present there long before then. Your immune system was doing it's job but the inflammation became too great to handle... thus the symptoms.

Regarding tooth #15... it is typical for a root canaled tooth to infect the adjacent teeth as they all share the same blood vessels, etc. So #15 could be infected and is just now showing up on the xray. A small periapical xray of #15 would focus in on the details of that tooth and it's surrounding bone more so than a panorex xray. If this tooth is infected, it too can be a contributing factor to the infection in general.

I cannot tell you whether to take the new rx of antibiotics or not. That decision has to come from your doctor/dentist. I can recommend that you take a probiotic supplement starting asap to help restore some healthy intestinal bacteria in your gut. Antibiotics and infection destroy the healthy flora in the gut and that alone can make you ill. Yogurt is not adequate in live bacterial cultures to make any difference. You would need a powerful supplement like Saccharomyces Boulardii. It should be taken an hour prior to the antibiotic or 2 hours after the antibiotic to avoid cross contamination. Generally, unless prescribed otherwise by a physician, the supplement is taken 2 times per day, 500 mgs each time during the course of the antibiotic and then for 2-4 weeks after.

Here's info on that...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296087/

An example of one quality brand...
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/aller...ii-50-veg-caps

Bryanna