Hi sanjayk,
The tooth has been infected since the beginning simply because the root canal procedure cannot cure the infectious bacteria that resides inside of the tooth. Root canal procedures are done to offer the patient an opportunity to retain their unhealthy tooth for an undetermined amount of time. Some people have little to no symptoms with their rc teeth others have chronic symptoms. However, all root canaled teeth are chronically infected. And the infection typically, eventually spreads from the tooth into the jawbone.
The oral surgery that your dentist is talking about is called an apicoectomy. This procedure cannot cure the infection as it accomplishes nothing more than the root canal procedure. So once an apico is done, the tooth is still infected and the bone will reinfect time and time again. So it is important for you to be aware of this prior to consenting to this invasive surgery. Inevitably, this tooth will need to be removed. Also keep in mind that the larger and deeper the infection becomes the more compromised the bone will be making replacement of this tooth complicated.
The crown feels elevated compared to your other teeth because the infection has formed a cyst at the end of the root. So the cyst and inflammation is actually pushing this tooth upwards. A visual example would be... picture a slither of wood underneath your fingernail. The area becomes sore and infected. Within a period of time the nail starts to elevate off of the skin as the area becomes swollen and overwhelmed with bacteria. Same scenario occurs in the jaw bone from an infected tooth.
To avoid chewing on this tooth will not cure the problem and eventually (sooner than later) you will develop a fistula (pimple on the gum) indicating the infection is spreading and looking for a release and/or a swelling as the tooth abscesses.
I know this is not what you want to hear. I'm sorry. If you haven't done this already, perhaps a discussion with your dentist about the removal and replacement of this tooth might be a good idea.
Please check back with us!
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by sanjayk
I'm new to this forum. I discovered it when researching dental problems.
I had a root canal done of the lower extreme molar a year back. Now there is a minor pain in it only when chewing. Actually, this problem has been there since the root canal, but I had ignored it, probably using the other side to chew more often. The problem became more evident only when a recent tooth problem on the that other side caused me to use the root canal tooth more often for chewing during last few weeks.
On viewing the xray, the dentist says it's a bone infection and needs a surgery where the bottom area will be flapped open to remove the infection.
Before committing to surgery, I want to confirm if it's really a bone infection or an inflammation. Actually, I have had difficulty chewing from that side since the time the root canal was done. Now that I tried to analyze it, the crown is a little elevated and on closing the jaw, that molar makes contact first. That means when chewing it gets the maximum pressure. Could this pain be due to that? How to confirm this? I'm thinking of using only the other side for a while and see if it lessens the pain.
Thanks,
Sanjay
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