Hi prwier,
The simple answer is yes. It is common to have pain in teeth adjacent to the extracted one for several days to a few weeks post op. If it goes on longer than that or you develop a fever, then you would need to be re-evaluated.
To offer you a peek into the big picture based on your description.....
Tooth #15 was not healthy due to the deep cavity. You may or may not have had symptoms from that cavity but all cavities are small to large infections within the tooth structure. The decay causes inflammation and irritation not only to that one tooth but to the nerves that are shared by all of the teeth in that quadrant. It's like having an infected splinter in your finger....... before you know it, the whole finger, even the hand hurts.
In addition to the cavity, drilling into a tooth as well as doing the root canal procedure will always cause trauma and inflammation. FYI... when the PDL is inflammed or widened (PDL is the periodontal ligament), this indicates that the tooth is severely traumatized and/or infection is brewing. So not only had this tooth been overly traumatized but the surrounding area and teeth were feeling the affects of all of this work as well. Take it one step further and extract the tooth.... more trauma to the surrounding nerves and blood vessels.
Unfortunately, this is the chance we take when we get a cavity... that's why it's a good idea to have them fixed when they are small. Sometimes we don't even know we have a cavity until it hurts... so we depend on our dentist to diagnose them at the onset. I'm hoping I have explained this ok......does that make sense to you?
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by prwier
Hello - I had a root canal in tooth #15 4 months ago. When a dentist when in to do a new filling, sje said it was too deep and sent me straight to an endodontist ,who did the root canal. Since that day, I had pain when biting on that tooth. Permanent crown did not help. Shaving it down so it was out of occlusion only helped until the tooth started moving down again and could be bit upon. There was only pain on biting. After a CT (no abscess) and several rounds of antibiotics, the tooth was extracted by an oral surgeon last week on the assumption that it had a micro-fracture which could not be seen on xray. Regular dentist x-rayed the other upper left teeth right before and found no problems with them. She did see inflammation of the PDL around the bad tooth.
When the tooth came out, there was no "obvious fracture" but a long dark line running the vertical length of the tooth, which the oral surgeon said was probably a "micro-fracture." It was a simple extraction - tooth out in about 2 minutes, no digging. The extraction socket still has the clot and is healing, i do saline or peridex rinses several times a day.
However (and here's the problem), since the extraction, i have sensitivity/some pain when biting on all the other teeth in the upper left. Oral surgeon said it may be PDL inflammation, normal surgery trauma, etc and give it time. if it doesnt improve in time, he said I may need to see a neuro @ possible nerve damage from the root canal. I have a history of sinus infections, but am on a 2-wk course of clindamycin.
Sorry for the long story. The question: Is it normal to have biting pain in the neighboring teeth a week following an extraction?
Thanks much-
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