Originally Posted by Bryanna

Kelly,

Whether or not you had antibiotics at the time of the root canal or not is irrelevant as there will always be bacterial infection inside of the inaccessible hundreds of microscopic canals called dentin tubules. I will attach a diagram for you to see just how loaded the tooth is with those tiny canals. When a dentist says that the rc tooth is not infected, they are referring to an abscess, not to the bacteria that resides in the dentin tubules.

The formation of the fistula indicates the severity of the infection as that is a tract of bacteria that has burrowed a path from the interior of the tooth, into the jaw bone and through the gum. The fistula is just the outlet from the path of infection, similar to the head filled pus on top of a cyst on your skin. The difference in the two is that the bacteria from the tooth is in the bone, whereas a cyst may not be much deeper than the skin.

The infection from root canaled teeth can easily spread to the adjacent teeth. These teeth are also not ideal as anchors for permanent bridge work because they are not healthy and the added pressure of holding a bridge causes them to break down even further. Bridgework that is attached to rc teeth will always be compromised for that reason.


Removable partial dentures take some getting use to. Some people do well with them while others struggle a bit. Dental implants when placed in healthy solid bone can last a lifetime. Dental implants placed in unhealthy bone and/or inadequate bone can be a chronic problem contributing to further bone loss.

You said you have one implant for two molars. Is that a single tooth implant next to a single tooth crown or are those 2 teeth connected?

See below the attachment of the diagram of the tooth. The dentin tubules are in brown and marked.

Bryanna