Jen,

Your case is very clear... the 2 root canaled teeth in the xray are infected. The only way to get rid of the infection is to remove those teeth. The bone will collapse if you keep the teeth because the infection will destroy the bone. The bone will recede to a flatter plane making the level of new bone higher than normal bone but that is not the same thing as collapse.

This is how the x-ray appears to me....
The piece of metal that was in your tooth looks like a piece of a broken reamer or endo file. The main canal in that tooth shows that the nerve material was removed above where this broken piece of reamer is lodged. So if that is correct then that means that the sedation dentist did a root canal on that tooth but did not complete it because he broke off an instrument inside of the canal which blocked the canal from that point up. Instead of removing that metal piece.... he just put in another post and put on a temporary crown. I have seen this countless times.... I believe it is a piece of a metal endo reamer file that was broken off inside of your tooth.

You are fixated on what has happened in the past with this tooth as if it would have some bearing on what is happening now. It actually doesn't have any bearing because once a tooth becomes infected, it remains infected irrelevant of what is done to it. So the broken instrument and the lousy dentistry really did not alter the eventual outcome of these teeth because they have been infected this whole time. So you should focus on the present issue which is the infection and your ill health.

To remove the teeth is to remove the infection. To leave the teeth means to keep the problem. I'm sorry to be so blunt but your case is that clear and the choice to remove them or continue on this same path is up to you. If you have other teeth that need to be removed on the top and/or you already have other missing teeth on the top.... then speak to your dentist about making a removable partial denture to replace all of them. That would probably be the least expensive and most beneficial replacement option for you at this point.

Thanks for posting the x-rays... your case was as I had suspected. I hope I have been clear with my information and I hope I have been able to empower you to be a bit stronger, less fearful as you move ahead with this. You will be better once the infected teeth are removed.... your immune system will thank you. You will need to make some lifestyle changes for the betterment of your overall health but in doing so .... you will be okay!

Check back with us and let us know how you're doing!
Bryanna