Hello,

I cracked a tooth about a year ago and started getting this replaced with an implant. A month after the implant was started I developed some severe pain radiating from the implant site. After three weeks the implant was removed to try and stop the pain.

I am still getting pain, the gum around the implant is sore to touch, especially up at the top outside of the gumline (it was an upper implant).

Is this normal healing or has something gone wrong? I'm on holiday so can't see my normal dentist right now. The pain is very distracting.

Any help would be much appreciated :-)

Hi Red Pen,

Not sure from your post if you still have the implant or not.... perhaps a new one was put in??

Anyway, generally the area of a dental implant is not painful after the first day or two. Sometimes not even for that long. An infection or a fracture in the bone or a sinus perforation that has not healed.... would cause long term pain. It's probably best to see your dentist as soon as you can.

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna and thanks for the reply,

No new implant was put in, the wound was stitched over and that was all.
It's strange, sometimes it's fine then other times the whole side of my face hurts. However, I always get pain when pressing on the outer gum where the implant was (ie pressing inside my mouth is fine, but pressing the are of the implant on the outside of my mouth causes pain). Is this a sign of anything?

I'm on holiday for a month so will try and see a dentist here.

Hi Red,

Chronic pain in that area of the jawbone after an implant placement and then removal of the implant could be associated with a number of things. It could be due to a good sized opening into the sinus that has not closed,with or without infection into the sinus.... a piece of the front portion of the bone called the buccal plate could be fractured and displaced and it could be a small piece .....could also be a bacterial infection called osteonecrosis or osteomyelitis....to name a few.

It would be a good idea to have a 3D dental CT scan of that area when you can get back to your dentist.... if you haven't already had one. Lingering pain from the dental work that you've had done is not normal...it indicates something is going on. It may be a minor issue that will heal on it's own... but it would be good to check into it further.

Bryanna

Hi again Bryanna and thanks for the rely,

I went to a dentist here in the US. He took an x ray and did and exam and said the area looked infected and put me on antibiotics for a week. It doesn't seem to be a hole into the sinus. The pain went down a bit but not completely away. I saw him for a follow up and he says the infection looks much better and it might take 4 weeks for the gum to heal and several months for the bone to change, and during this time it could be sore.

I'm still in quite a bit of pain, do I really still have weeks and weeks of pain ahead of me?

Hi Red,

Based on your description and symptoms, I'm not surprised that it was infected. Yes, it takes time for the surgical area and bone to heal completely, however, in a case like yours, if you are still having alot of pain in spite of taking the antibiotic, then the infection may still be lingering in the bone.

Most oral surgery procedures generally heal very quickly if there are no complications and usually with little to no (short term) lingering "pain". When there is a bone infection after oral surgery such as yours, the infection can sometimes be difficult to diagnose and eradicate. Yes, it can take several weeks for the area to heal, if there is no infection. But your pain should be diminishing every day to some degree, the pain should not be spreading or requiring you to take constant pain medication.

Hope this information helps..
Bryanna

Yes, that helps a lot Bryanna, but it is also slightly alarming.

What happens if a bone infection doesn't get treated? Will it ever get better by itself or will it get worse quickly?

I'm still on holiday (3 more weeks) but will try and see a dentist here on Monday.

Hi Red,

I know it's alarming and it kills me to see this happen to people when most of the time it could have been avoided.

If there is infection in the jawbone, no it will not heal on it's own. The most basic way to describe what happens is this....the jawbone is very vascular and every bit of it requires a healthy blood flow to stay healthy. An infection in the bone causes inflammation causing the bacteria to get caught in the crevasses of bone which leads to an ischemic (blood loss) reaction followed by necrosis, means the bone dies. A visual example of Ischemia would be cutting off the circulation to a finger or toe, before you know it, the rest of the limb is affected. Did I explain that ok or should I clarify better??

You have to gauge your pain... is it worse... is it different... is it only relieved by pain medication? These are indicative of an ongoing problem. If it is sometimes sore, but seems to have improved overall, then it's likely getting better.

Let me know what you think....
Bryanna



QUOTE=Red_Pen;808788]Yes, that helps a lot Bryanna, but it is also slightly alarming.

What happens if a bone infection doesn't get treated? Will it ever get better by itself or will it get worse quickly?

I'm still on holiday (3 more weeks) but will try and see a dentist here on Monday.[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is a good explanation and it makes sense.

The pain changes, sometimes it is hardly noticeable, other times I can feel it across parts of my face or even at the top of my head. In general I would say it is sore about half the time and only just noticeable (or not noticeable at all) the other half of the time. Painkillers don't make a big difference, but even when I have a gentle pain somewhere painkillers don't always help with me. It doesn't seem to be getting worse, if anything a bit better, at least the periods of low pain seem to be increasing and bad pain decreasing. However sometimes the teeth next to the extraction site are tender when pressed, other times they are fine.

What is the treatment for this? Is it even something I could get seen to on holiday? I'd like to get something started as soon as possible.

Thanks for all your help Bryanna





[/QUOTE]

Hi Red,

Ok, so the pain is not constant... and it seems to be decreasing in general, those are good signs. If this is how it continues but the pain has not totally subsided, then you could wait until you get back home to have it evaluated.

The diagnosis of osteomyelitis can be complicated and unfortunately some dentists are not that familiar with it because they usually refer their patients to an oral surgeon before this condition occurs.... or so they think. The treatment for this condition varies and depends on the severity of the case.

If you are still having pain after your holiday.... consult an oral surgeon for evaluation. Otherwise, you could wait and have the area xrayed at your next dental check up.

How does that sound to you??
Bryanna



[/QUOTE]