[cats]

Hi I had my molar tooth removed on the bottom left side and another tooth that was an old root canal done 15 years ago I guess it is tooth 17 & 19 that they removed December 9th.I never got antibiotic and the old root canal has been abscessed for 2 or 3 years. The dentist had my tooth on watch.My ear has hurt so much after the extractions that I went to hospital clinic and she gave me penicillin to take for 10 days.What do you think has caused this pain that feels like a ear infection.Dr says I don't have an ear infection. When the dentist removed my teeth I thought my right jaw was going to snap from the pressure when he was working on my lower left jaw. I went to the hospital clinic on December 17th. my ear is a little better but still hurts .What do you think is going on with my ear. I have to cover my ear around people talking and TV's.should this go away and is it normal?

[Bryanna]

Hi cats,

So sorry you are having this problem. To answer your question, ear pain can indicate that there is a problem either in the jawbone, a salivary gland or problems in the TMJ area.

First of all, if you had an abcessed tooth (irrelevant of how long), then you should have been put on an antibiotic a few days prior to the extraction of that tooth because the infection from the abcessed tooth travels into the jawbone which means that the antibiotic would have reduced some of the infection/inflammation prior to the extraction making the removal of the tooth less complicated. The antibiotic also would have altered the pH factor of the infection allowing the local anesthetic to be more profound and effective. The antibiotic that the hospital put you on afterwards may or may not have taken care of the infection in the jawbone.

Secondly, anytime there is alot of force put on the jaw to remove a tooth, there is going to be inflammation in the TMJ joint. This can also include spasms in the surrounding ligaments and jaw muscles. All of which cause ear pain until the inflammation and spasms subside...... which could take several weeks to months to completely go away.

It is important to determine what the exact problem is so that it can be treated properly. If it is infection, then antibiotics are needed.... if it is TMJ issues then there are certain things that need to be discussed with your dentist to help decrease the pain and inflammation.

Can you go back to the dentist and get an xray and exam of that area?

Bryanna




So both of these things can be contributing to your ear pain.

Originally Posted by cats

Hi I had my molar tooth removed on the bottom left side and another tooth that was an old root canal done 15 years ago I guess it is tooth 17 & 19 that they removed December 9th.I never got antibiotic and the old root canal has been abscessed for 2 or 3 years. The dentist had my tooth on watch.My ear has hurt so much after the extractions that I went to hospital clinic and she gave me penicillin to take for 10 days.What do you think has caused this pain that feels like a ear infection.Dr says I don't have an ear infection. When the dentist removed my teeth I thought my right jaw was going to snap from the pressure when he was working on my lower left jaw. I went to the hospital clinic on December 17th. my ear is a little better but still hurts .What do you think is going on with my ear. I have to cover my ear around people talking and TV's.should this go away and is it normal?

[cats]

Originally Posted by Bryanna

Hi cats,

So sorry you are having this problem. To answer your question, ear pain can indicate that there is a problem either in the jawbone, a salivary gland or problems in the TMJ area.

First of all, if you had an abcessed tooth (irrelevant of how long), then you should have been put on an antibiotic a few days prior to the extraction of that tooth because the infection from the abcessed tooth travels into the jawbone which means that the antibiotic would have reduced some of the infection/inflammation prior to the extraction making the removal of the tooth less complicated. The antibiotic also would have altered the pH factor of the infection allowing the local anesthetic to be more profound and effective. The antibiotic that the hospital put you on afterwards may or may not have taken care of the infection in the jawbone.

Secondly, anytime there is alot of force put on the jaw to remove a tooth, there is going to be inflammation in the TMJ joint. This can also include spasms in the surrounding ligaments and jaw muscles. All of which cause ear pain until the inflammation and spasms subside...... which could take several weeks to months to completely go away.

It is important to determine what the exact problem is so that it can be treated properly. If it is infection, then antibiotics are needed.... if it is TMJ issues then there are certain things that need to be discussed with your dentist to help decrease the pain and inflammation.

Can you go back to the dentist and get an xray and exam of that area?

Bryanna




So both of these things can be contributing to your ear pain.

I.m feeling better today and have about 5 more days of penicillin to take.If I get rid of all the pain should I still get a xray or no? Thanks again

[Bryanna]

Hi cats,

I would say yes to the xray. Simply because you had a long standing infection and you were not given antibiotics pre operatively. The xray will show if there is residual infection in the jaw. If your pain completely subsides within 5 days, they you could wait about a month to get that xray. If the pain persists, even a dull ache, then get the xray sooner.

Please let us know how you're doing!

Bryanna

Originally Posted by cats

I.m feeling better today and have about 5 more days of penicillin to take.If I get rid of all the pain should I still get a xray or no? Thanks again