Originally Posted by Bryanna

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