Hi AppleTree,

I read your other posts to see what they were about before I replied to your inquiry on this forum. I can address your dental concerns and the information I offer you about your teeth may or may not be correlated with your throat issues.

Firstly, I understand from your other posts that you are trying to take care of yourself as you are mindful of your diet etc. One thing that stood out to me was your deliberate habit of limiting your salt intake. Is there a reason you are doing this? Not all salt is bad for us. In fact salt is an essential nutrient that all people need to have enough of every single day for many bodily functions. It's important to eat unrefined healthy salt and avoid chemically processed table salt or sodium chloride. Here is an article written by Dr Mercola on salt... very informative.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...y-doctors.aspx

Regarding your dental problem.... I understand that you have a fear of being in the dental chair. Most people have some degree of dental phobia but for some, it can be quite debilitating. It's important to know that there are dentists that cater to people with this intense fear and they truly go out of their way to make the visit less stressful. There are also hypnotherapists that do specific therapy for dental phobia which can be very helpful. I would suggest that you do some research about the hypnotherapy and also for one of these dentists and have someone go with you for the consultation. In the long run it's always easier to go to the dentist before a dental problem becomes too severe. Please understand I am not dismissing or making light of your fear.... I believe it is very real and can be very consuming. But I also know that with help, you can overcome that intense fear enough to get to the dentist for the consultation.

The lack of intense pain with your tooth is not a good indication of the severity of the problem. Most dental problems have little to no symptoms or pain until they have progressed. The tooth symptoms that you have described here commonly indicates what is referred to as a perio/endo infection. This is when the bacteria from inside the root canaled tooth has moved beyond the tooth and to some degree into the interproximal area between the teeth. The bacteria causes inflammation in the bone that is shared by these two teeth which then causes the gum tissue to become unhealthy as well. The odor and taste is the bacteria from the tooth as it's draining from in between the teeth. The drainage may be clear and seem like saliva. The toothache that you had during the night is from the infection building up inside of the tooth. Once the bacteria released itself, the pain subsided. Unfortunately, this infection is not something that you can subside yourself as it is the root canaled tooth that is causing the infection. The only means of eradicating the infection is to remove the source, which is the tooth. Anything other than that, any dental procedure other than that will not have any positive long term affects on this infection.

Here's where there may be a correlation between this dental infection and your other physical symptoms. The bacteria from a tooth infection filters through the blood stream via the blood vessels in the mouth to other areas of the body. This type of infection, as I have described to you, is draining into your mouth, down your throat, into your stomach, etc. So it is not unlikely for a tooth infection to cause or contribute to systemic health problems which often go un-diagnosed or misdiagnosed by medical doctors.

I know this information is making your anxiety hit the roof. I'm very sorry to do that to you .... but you're searching for help and I think it's important for you to know this information. I seriously want to reassure you that there is help for you. I hope you will consider seeking a dentist that caters to people with severe dental fear.

The people who participate here really care about you. Always feel free to express your concerns with us.

Bryanna