Hi Bryanna,

My name is Ken
I had a root canal in Nov 12, the a crown in early Feb 13. Now i have infection adn of course my dentis has referred me to an endo dentist for a $2000 re-canal job which I hear you saying probably won't work. He also gave me a precription for penicillin.

It sound like the best course of action is to have my $1000 crown extracted.

WHy are dentists allowed to do so many root canals if they almost alwayd get infected???

Ken

The reason these specialists re-do RC is that there is alot of money to be made. In my own research, I believe it. I put in about 2,000 on one tooth that did not hold up and got infected anyway. The infections can't be treated deep within those canals, they just don't tell you that. My own dentist, told me that as well as Bryanna. I had mine out, end of pain, end of problem, end of the money drain which really made me upset. I have a partial now and am happy to be back in shape. Best choice I ever made. I wish the professionals would be honest, but I have not found that to be what they do. ginnie

Hi Ken,

Your question....
<<WHy are dentists allowed to do so many root canals if they almost always get infected???>>

ANSWER....
ENDODONTIC THERAPY (ROOT CANAL TREATMENT) IS THE MOST LUCRATIVE FORM OF DENTISTRY AND MOST PEOPLE CAN BE SOLD ON THE TREATMENT NOT JUST ONCE, BUT TWICE.... SOMETIMES THREE TIMES. THERE ARE INSTRUMENTS THAT NOW ENABLE A DENTIST TO PERFORM A ROOT CANAL IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW MANY PATIENTS CAN BE SEEN IN THE COURSE OF ONE DAY... AT APPROXIMATELY $2000 PER PATIENT.

SECONDLY, MANY PEOPLE DO NOT ASK ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCEDURE BECAUSE THEY ARE USUALLY IN PAIN AND ARE SCARED TO DEATH TO LOSE THEIR TOOTH.

THE DENTIST USUALLY FAILS TO INFORM THE PATIENT THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE ALL OF THE INFECTED NECROTIC NERVE MATERIAL FROM INSIDE OF THE TINY CANALS AND HOW THIS BACTERIA WILL PROLIFERATE FROM THESE CANALS INTO THE PERIODONTAL LIGAMENT... INTO THE JAWBONE... INTO THE BLOODSTREAM.... AND OFTEN BEYOND.

THEREFORE THE PATIENT IS ALSO NOT INFORMED OF THE SYSTEMIC CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH RETAINING THIS INFECTED TOOTH.

IN DENTISTRY WHEN THE WORD "CURE" IS REFERENCED WITH REGARD TO THE ROOT CANAL PROCEDURE OR APICOECTOMIES OR ROOT AMPUTATIONS... IT SIMPLY MEANS NOTHING MORE THAN "RETAIN".

MY STANCE ON THIS SUBJECT IS SIMPLE..... INFORM THE PATIENT ABOUT THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE PROCEDURE AND THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH RETAINING AN INFECTED TOOTH..... OFFER OPTIONS SUCH AS REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT... AND LET THE PATIENT DECIDE WHAT IS IN THEIR BEST INTEREST. IF THE PATIENT DECIDES TO STILL GO AHEAD WITH THE ROOT CANAL TREATMENT, AT LEAST THEY HAVE BEEN HONESTLY FOREWARNED.

HOPE THIS ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION....

Bryanna

My lower tooth cracked last year and had a root canal. I have been in diificulty with this tooth since the root canal. it ha created different levels of pain and severe ear aches that iuprofen has relieved until now. It now has an abscess and the infection is spreading to my ear and jaw. The dentist who did the root canal says there is nothing wrong with the root canal and I should not be experiencing pain. He thinks my bite needs readjusting which he did. This has not helped. Went to a second dentist who told me the root canal tooth is cracked, infected and needs to be removed. he does not do extractions and wants me to wait until next week for his specialist who only comes in on friday's to get the tooth removed. I need the tooth removed asap.

In regards post tooth removal I am not comfortable with a implant, which all the dentists here are pushing. I would prefer a cap.

How can i get relief? What are your suggestions?

Pete

Hi Pete,

I agree, an abscessed tooth should be removed asap... it is best for an oral surgeon to remove this tooth because they are most experienced at doing so.

I'm a little confused about your last statement...
<<In regards post tooth removal I am not comfortable with a implant, which all the dentists here are pushing. I would prefer a cap.>>

A cap covers a tooth. When this tooth is removed, there will be no tooth there to cap. If you had a dental implant put in, then a cap would be put over the top of the implant. If this infectd tooth has both a tooth in front and behind it.... then you may be able to have a permanent bridge made which would involve cutting down and capping both of the adjacent teeth and then a fake tooth would be the middle portion of the all connected 3 unit bridge.

The only relief will be after the tooth is removed. Did the dentist put you on an antibiotic? Can you get in to see another oral surgeon as an emergency prior to friday?

Bryanna




[/B]

I have an abscessed tooth with an infection. can it be removed before the infection is cleared up?

Pete

Pete,

The infection will not clear up as long as the tooth is present because the source of the infection is the tooth. The only way to remove the infection is to remove the tooth and clean out the infected ligament and bone.

Usually a patient is put on an antibiotic to help temporarily reduce the inflammation and then by the 3rd day of being on the medication the tooth is removed and the patient continues with the remainder of the antibiotic.

Bryanna

First I'm not a dentist nor in that field *admin edit*

Now that link shows that several visits are needed to really fix a root canal, it's needed to really 'clean' a tooth before finishing the root canal. My first root canals were done back in early 90's by a general dentist that cleaned my teeth inside more than once before putting in the rods, then capped the teeth. Here it is 2013 and absolutely NO problems with those teeth. Now I've had a couple of teeth done by a few other general dentist that have really had no clue how to do a root canal: 1 put in inferior rod and the cap broke and the rod has broken. I'm thinking the rod was polymer and not titanium. Another went through the SIDE of the tooth, into the bone and disrupted the sac around the tooth. Emergency visit to the "endo" to patch and spent over 2 weeks on pain pills with a very swollen face.

I have no answers for your tooth but if it's that infected after the root canal and it's going to be that expensive then it might be better to do an implant after the infection is cleared up. I'd hate to do that myself. The latest dentist I went to is talking pulling teeth i.e. the broken root canal. I'm for letting the endo that saved my last tooth go in and look to see if it can't be saved. I'm going to read the rest of the posts to see what has happened, if you're posted since.

I wish I could find another dentist that does root canals in more than one stage and really "cleans" a tooth like the dentist that did my first root canal.

I had an admit edit, was trying to put some info in here without having to type in a LOT of information from another site. In my own words it was just saying that a endo that used a microscope AND more than one visit had a better chance of saving a tooth than a "one stop shop", get it done in 1 visit. I've had more problems with the "one stop shop" type of root canal. The 3 times was better. In my case the root canals were mostly because my teeth are more flimsy due to all of the medications I had back as a child and not infections and as far as I know implants weren't on the market yet. I really wanted to clear that up. My bad abcessed tooth on top back was pulled and I'd do that again. The relief was the best thing.

GrannyLaLa,

Unfortunately, there is no way to "clean" out a tooth completely because there is no access to the microscopic canals. In addition to that the medicaments that are used during the root canal procedure are toxic and should not be used in the mouth. The gutta percha material used to plug up the large canals is a latex material that has heavy metals, including mercury and lead, added to it so it can be seen on radio graphs. Other chemicals it may contain include formocreasol or parachlorophenol. All of which can cause inflammation and infection, allergic reactions, and compromise the immune system. Unfortunately, most dentists do not inform their patients about any of that prior to performing the root canal.

The "rods" you write about are "posts" that are placed inside of a root canaled tooth to provide retention and strength to a very fragile and sickly tooth. The problem with posts and the reason they often cause the tooth to break off at or below the gum line is because teeth are not designed to be so rigid. Posts also allow and then trap bacteria around the margins which travels underneath the crown pre disposing the tooth to recurrent decay.

In dentistry.. the word "save" when referring to a root canal does not mean "cure"... it means "retain". Unfortunately, the tooth remains infected and inflamed irrelevant of what procedure is done to it. The only way to "cure" the infection is to remove the source which is the tooth.

Bryanna




QUOTE=GrannyLaLa1960;988240]First I'm not a dentist nor in that field *admin edit*

Now that link shows that several visits are needed to really fix a root canal, it's needed to really 'clean' a tooth before finishing the root canal. My first root canals were done back in early 90's by a general dentist that cleaned my teeth inside more than once before putting in the rods, then capped the teeth. Here it is 2013 and absolutely NO problems with those teeth. Now I've had a couple of teeth done by a few other general dentist that have really had no clue how to do a root canal: 1 put in inferior rod and the cap broke and the rod has broken. I'm thinking the rod was polymer and not titanium. Another went through the SIDE of the tooth, into the bone and disrupted the sac around the tooth. Emergency visit to the "endo" to patch and spent over 2 weeks on pain pills with a very swollen face.

I have no answers for your tooth but if it's that infected after the root canal and it's going to be that expensive then it might be better to do an implant after the infection is cleared up. I'd hate to do that myself. The latest dentist I went to is talking pulling teeth i.e. the broken root canal. I'm for letting the endo that saved my last tooth go in and look to see if it can't be saved. I'm going to read the rest of the posts to see what has happened, if you're posted since.

I wish I could find another dentist that does root canals in more than one stage and really "cleans" a tooth like the dentist that did my first root canal.[/QUOTE]