Hi Maiamontilla,

The fact that these dentists have not done xrays is totally unacceptable. Please do not allow any more dentists to treat you without xrays. They cannot see the extent of the problem without xrays and you cannot keep taking antibiotics without knowing why they are prescribed. Antibiotics disrupt your intestinal bacteria which can make you very ill. So they should not be prescribed so carelessly as your dentists have done.

The infection that you have is most likely in the jaw bone, not just the gum tissue. Typically the infection from the root canaled tooth spreads into the bone and causes an abscess. Based on your description the dentist that extracted the teeth did not scrape the bone clean, therefore, the abscess would still present.

Can you see a different oral surgeon and make sure that he takes a full mouth series of xrays? You have the right to be treated properly. All dentists know better than to treat a patient without xrays. Please seek help from someone else.

Bryanna

Hello, Bryanna.

Thank you so much for your concern. I would find a new surgeon as soon as I could get a vacant time. It's somewhat hard to get a good one, since all of them here don't have the practice that you got and that's disappointing for patients like me.

Anyway, you've been such a great help, Bryanna and I'd really want to thank you over and over again. Could I still get back to you and send my x ray?

Thank you and more power!

Xx

Maiamontilla,

May I ask, what country do you live in?
Are there privately owned dental practices?

Bryanna

I'm from the Philippines. Particularly in Tacloban, if you're familiar, the one that has been hit by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. Yes, we have private dental clinics here and it's where I'm more comfortable to go whenever I'm pained. And we also have dentist in Public Hospitals, where you pay much lesser, no dentist's fee and payment is just for the anesthesia. But, so far, those private clinics nor the public hosp. that I've visited, none of them owns an X Ray machine. They would have to reffer a certain lab and maybe, that's the reason why their first choice is to prescribe antibiotics than to let me get an X Ray.

Feels like the new antibiotic prescribed yesterday, still has no effect. I just took pain reliever cos I am in deep ache at the moment.

Wish I could find a good Oral Surgeon tomorrow or would it be better if I would just get an X Ray and look for a new dentist to let him read it?

Xx

Hi Maiamontilla,

Oh my goodness.... I assume you are referencing the typhoon that occurred in 2013? I hope you and your family were able to flee the area quickly to a safe place. What a frightening event to live through. I cannot even imagine what that would be like. I hope you are okay!

My suggestion about finding a dentist or preferably an oral surgeon would be to get a listing of all of them, perhaps you could do a google search for someone within a reasonable distance from you. Then call their offices and ask if they have an xray machine or if they will refer you to someplace else to have xrays as you need to have them done. Also take a look at this link...
http://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/philippines/x-ray.

Please let me know when you find someone and in the mean time I would recommend that you keep rinsing with warm salt water 3 times a day and make sure to brush all of your teeth thoroughly 2 times a day.
Bryanna

Hi, Bryanna.

Yes, you're right. The strongest typhoon, i bet. We're just lucky that we are located in a higher area, though the water caused by the storm surge reached us, I am thankful that we live in a two level house and we were able to save our life by staying upstairs. Though our roof gave up and we were all wet, we're still more fortunate than the other victims. I did not lost any member of my family, but I have friends who died and it's so sad. Tacloban has already moved forward and it's gonna be Yolanda's 2nd Anniversary this coming Nov. 8, maybe the pain and trauma would always stay, but at least we are back. And we will always be thankful to all who prayed and helped us stand again. Especially the other countries, including yours.

By the way, I already had an x ray and there was abscess found in the last molar (the tooth beside the recently extracted). The dentist said that there was no more problem in my gums (the one that has history of root canal and the one next to it). She extracted the last molar and God, it was the most painful thing that has ever happened to me. Anesthesia did not work, even if she did it for many times. I really wanted to cry, but I told her to end the agony, so she forcely pulled the tooth. And there, I've seen that there was something black in the tooth. It wasn't that clear so I asked her, she said the black stuff is inside the tooth. She also saw another decayed tooth and pulled it out, too. And I now understand when you said that the health of the teeth and gums could not just be seen through our eyes. But, if only they recommend x ray right away, the burden should've not stayed for almost three months.

Thanks again, Bryanna. Thank you so much!

Xx

Hi Maiamontilla,

I am so very sorry for the loss of your friends during that horrific event. But at the same time so relieved to hear that you and your family are okay and how very fortunate you all were to be able to stay reasonably safe during the storm. I have experienced a few earth quakes, hurricanes and tornadoes but nothing near the magnitude of that typhoon. The trauma and devastation of that experience will remain with you but so will the positivism from the out pour of love and help from around the world. I pray you never have to experience anything like that again ~'.'~

The reason the extraction of that molar was painful was because of the infection. Infectious bacteria is very acidic whereas the local anesthetic is very alkaline. So irrelevant of how many injections the dentist gave you, the bacteria would over ride the anesthetic. Generally when a tooth is very infected, an antibiotic will be prescribed to be taken for 3 days prior to the extraction to lower the bacterial count so that the anesthetic becomes more effective. The meds would then be continued for another 7-10 days after the extraction. I'm sorry if she did not follow that protocol.

Because you do not have routine dental care and because you still have pain, it would be wise to have a full mouth series of xrays. There is no other way to help determine the health of your teeth and bone because a clinical view is limited and just not good enough.

I hope you can find the dental help you deserve. Please keep us posted
Bryanna

Hello, Bryanna.

Thank you so much for everything- for answering all of my concerns; for the endless advice; for never getting tired on listening and for the knowledge you've shared with me. I learned a lot and I'm very blessed I've found you. And I would always keep every learning that I earned- I promise to take care of my dental health from now on.

Thank you so much, Bryanna! You are an angel.

Thank you! Xoxo

Maiamontilla,

Thank you for the kinds words
Sometimes it's just nice to have someone to reach out to and I'm glad I could be of some help to you. I hope you will pursue getting a dentist and find someone who will serve you well. Don't give up!

I came across this dentist in the Philippines... have no idea if she would be near you or not. Please take a look.. https://www.practo.com/metro-manila/...-ebuen-dentist

Bryanna

[Hi Bryanna,

I'm new around here so excuse me if I got something wrong. I had my upper left wisdom tooth extracted more than 3 weeks ago. I didn't take any antibiotics because I'd had this kind of surgery 3 times already and I'd been fine without antibiotics. After the first week the swelling hadn't subsided so I went to see my oral surgeon. He told me I've got an infection, prescribed me one course of antibiotics and I went to see him a few more times to drain the pus. After the swelling came down I had a hard lump left in my cheek and he told me that it would take time for the tissue to get back to normal. That was a week ago and so far the lump hasn't changed at all, except that it started to move down slightly. Last couple of days I had a fever and pus started draining in my mouth again when I apply pressure. I don't panic easily but it's been almost a month now and I'm not sure if I should give it more time or seek a second opinion. Any advice would be helpful, thanks.