I am going to try to make this as simple as possible, but I have been battling issues for about 7 months now so I am not sure how brief or lengthy it may get. Last year I cracked the filling in a lower molar #18. I did not get this fixed right away (first huge mistake) and it resulted in an abscessed tooth. Earlier this year I developed Reactive Arthritis, but the cause was unknown. I 100% believe it was due to my abscessed tooth going so long without being treated. I have had a hard time convincing doctors and dentists of this theory though. Anyways, the issue with my mouth got worse after the extraction in April. I will explain, but I would first like to point out that I had a bump appear on my gum behind the molar as it became abscessed. Present day, the bump still exists. It went down some after the extraction, but now it has gotten large again. I went back to my oral surgeon, and he took x-rays. He said the bump was part of my anatomy, but in the x-ray the bump was barely even visible. I also had a dry socket in that area. I have had swelling on that same side of my face, mostly in the jaw area. In the past few days I have had lymph nodes pop up from my neck up. I count 9. One of the lymph nodes is huge and located on the back of my neck just below the hairline. I have ringing in my left ear. After 4 times of going back and forth with my oral surgeon, I decided to see someone else. I saw another oral surgeon today. Luckily, he has agreed to do a bone scan to see if the jaw bone is infected in that area. I go back to see him tomorrow. Also, he ruled out any possible TMJ issues. I am really concerned about this as it may be affecting my overall health. Here are some questions I have for anyone that could help:
Does a bone scan sufficiently show what is going on in that area? To elaborate, is there a better test to determine if there is an infection in the jaw? I am curious as to why he didn’t want to do a CT or MRI scan or possibly a combination of tests i.e. bone scan + CT scan? Should I push to have a CT or MRI scan for this? If it is a bone infection, couldn’t the oral surgeon just cut open the gums and drain the infection? Wouldn’t that take care of the persistent bump that is still there as well?