Granny LaLa,

Just so you are aware.......
The microscope used in root canal therapy can only detect bacteria inside of the large canals. It cannot detect bacteria inside of the thousands of microscopic canals because they often cannot be located and there is no access to them. So as I have posted before... these tiny canals called dentin tubules or accessory canals harbor infected nerve tissue rendering the tooth chronically infected and inflamed.

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

I'm so impressed with all of the advice you give on this site. I hope that you can give me advice about what I think may be a problem with a persisting infection.


To make a long story short, I got a root canal in 2009 in the US. Due to a family wedding, I waited several months to return to the dentist to have the temporary crown replaced with a permanent one (my dentist said that was ok). A new employee (who perhaps didn't know how long I'd had the temp crown on) yanked off the temp crown and I started to bleed profusely. My dentist seemed alarmed but said that he would staunch the blood and put on the permanent crown. I had severe pain and returned a few days later, and he told me that the pain would be gone in 6 weeks, and if not, to call him. He said that there wasn't anything he could do besides give me pain meds since I would be moving soon.

Shortly after that, I moved overseas. My tooth sometimes felt loose, sometimes a bit irritated, and a red blister-like sore sometimes appeared above the tooth. I foolishly didn't seek medical treatment overseas since there wasn't any more pain after 6 weeks (just irritation) and I was working long hours and didn't want to take time off of my new job for dental appointments. When I returned to the US in 2011, another tooth broke and a similar red sore appeared above it. It became painful and my cheek swelled up. I went to another dentist, and she prescribed antibiotics and gave me a root canal. The swelling went down and the red sore disappeared.

Later that year while overseas again, I started to have pain in the area around the 1st root canal and another root canal that I'd had years before (I have 3 RCs total). The red sore would appear above either of those teeth and then disappear. My face swelled up again and I was prescribed antibiotics again. The foreign dentists, although very nice, were reluctant to re-do or remove my root canals and suggested that I wait until coming back to the US. Around the same time, I started to experience neck soreness and terrible back pain and my back went out to the point that I couldn't move for a few days. I'd never had any issues with my back in the past. I also felt dizzy and nauseous and developed a fever. Doctors prescribed pain meds and said I should get my teeth taken care of when I went back home. I returned to the US and had both teeth removed in 2012.

I haven't had any more red sores nor has my face swollen up since then. However, I'm afraid that the infection is still there and may have spread. I continue to sometimes feel the "crawling" feeling of infection in my face. I've also had a recurring issue with feeling like I might have a bladder infection, ear infection, or sinus infection, along with recurring back and neck stiffness and pain and headaches in the front of my head (never had that kind before). I sometimes feel slightly dizzy and nauseous, and feel very fatigued most days.

I've spoken to various dentists and doctors about that. They've all told me that it is unlikely that the infection has spread. I've had a urine test for infection and it came back clear. I had a blood test taken to test for infection and it was fine. I get the feeling that they think I'm a hypochondriac. I can't help feeling that all of these things are related to the root canal infections, though.

What do you think? Have you heard of this happening? If so, what should I be asking my dentists/doctors, if urine and blood tests didn't show infection?

Thank you so much for any advice or suggestions you can offer! I'm starting to feel that it's hopeless to even go to the doctor or dentist, since all that happens is I shell out money that I don't have in order to be told that I'm fine.

Hello...first time poster here and this is my first time. Back last Feb. I began the process of having 8 crowns made and installed if that is the correct word. Here it is in June and not done yet, and there have been some problems. First the dentist drilled out the old metal fillings which were put in in 1966 on Guam by a USAF dentist. Then he filled and shaped the teeth (all bottom jaw teeth on both sides) and put on temp. crowns. These came loose on one side and had to be replaced twice.
Finally the perm. crowns arrived, but one of these would not fit, and the dentist broke a piece off the adjacent crown while trying remove the excess cement towards the gum line. So they had to order two more perm. crowns. Meanwhile I began having pain and sensitivity underneath one other tooth on that same side. I could not bite down on that tooth or even touch it without pain. Now the pain has moved downwards and hurts along the gum/root line. I can also feel a lump below that same tooth.
He x-rayed it and showed me a dark spot on the x-ray which he called a "bubble" but he did not explain what exactly it might be. I was put on Amoxicillin andf told to come back in a week. It does not hurt as mucgh as before, but it is still painful and sensitive even after a Lortab or two. This is worrying me and I think I might need a second opinion.

24 hours later and not much change. Still have pain and soreness at the root of the capped tooth in question. Been taking 500 mg of Amoxicillin for 5 days and although it is not as sensitive as before the gum is still swollen at the root area. It seems to me if antibiotics were going to work they would have by now. I would think that an x-ray would have pin-pointed the problem, but as yet the dentist has not sufficiently explained what he thinks might be wrong. I go back this Friday so perhaps I will get the news then. I'm not so sure I understand what the normal procedure/options are in this kind of case. I have always thought that crowns were permanent, but this one hasn't lasted a week. I hope they don't have to drill it away and start over again.

Hi Colorado Seeker,

The bacteria from any tooth infection can and will travel through the bloodstream. The longer the infection is present, the more likely it is to become a systemic concern. ALL dentists and doctors are aware of this... however, many dentists think of it as a "medical" problem and pass it off... many physicians think of it as a "dental" issue and pass it off. I know, stupid.... but unfortunately this is common practice in most places of the world.

It is also possible for you to have residual bacteria harboring in the areas of where you had these root canaled teeth. Sometimes this can be picked up on an xray, other times not. Sometimes a dental cat scan is done to rule out jaw bone infection. Your existing root canaled tooth should also be of concern to you irrelevant of whether you have any symptoms with it or not because it too is a chronic source of infection. All root canaled teeth are unhealthy due to the inability to access the tiny canals and remove the infected nerve material. All teeth require nutrition via the blood vessels to be healthy and root canaled teeth no longer have any nutrition going into them because the vessel supplying the blood was cut off during the procedure.

There are numerous medical tests that can be done to detect a systemic infection. Frequently the routine CBC and urine test are not 100% effective in diagnosing all problems. Specific inflammatory markers need to be checked along with other things. It may behoove you to ask your physician for a referral to an Infection Disease Specialist.

It may also behoove you to seek a dentist who practices Biological Dentistry as these dentists understand the mouth/body connection much more so than conventional dentists. A source for a Bio dentist is www.iaomt.org.

It is important to know that your existing root canaled tooth is going to continue to be a source of infection. So as you take this medical and dental journey into trying to get a diagnosis of your physical issues... that tooth will continue to burden your immune system which is part of the problem.

You did not indicate which teeth were root canaled..... here is a tooth and organ chart which shows the correlation between certain teeth and certain areas of the body. Just put your curser on a tooth and click.
http://www.talkinternational.com/toothchart.html

Bryanna

Hi Murtain,

I will repost your last paragraph and follow with my answer in bold.

<<<He x-rayed it and showed me a dark spot on the x-ray which he called a "bubble" but he did not explain what exactly it might be. I was put on Amoxicillin andf told to come back in a week. It does not hurt as mucgh as before, but it is still painful and sensitive even after a Lortab or two. This is worrying me and I think I might need a second opinion.>>>

IF I AM UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY, THE DARK SPOT SEEN ON THE XRAY THAT WAS REFERRED TO AS A BUBBLE IS ACTUALLY AN INFECTION. IF IT IS AT THE ROOT TIP OF THE TOOTH IT IS CALLED A APICAL LESION. THIS IS A CYST THAT FORMS AT THE ROOT OF THE TOOTH WHEN THE BACTERIA INSIDE OF THE TOOTH HAS PROLIFERATED THROUGH THE APEX (ROOT TIP) INTO THE JAW BONE. IF THE DARK AREA WAS SURROUNDING THE TOOTH THEN IT ALSO INDICATES INFECTION. BOTH OF THESE THINGS MEAN THE TOOTH IS INFECTED AND THE INFECTION HAS SPREAD.

THE ONLY WAY TO REMOVE THE INFECTION IS TO REMOVE THE TOOTH. YOUR DENTIST WILL PROBABLY SUGGEST A ROOT CANAL AND/OR PERIODONTAL SCRAPING OF THE ROOT SURFACE OF THIS TOOTH AND/OR AN APICOECTOMY ... NONE OF THESE PROCEDURES WILL CURE THE INFECTION BECAUSE THE TOOTH ITSELF IS THE SOURCE OF THE INFECTION AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE SOURCE OF THE INFECTION AS THERE IS NO PROCEDURE OR MEDICATION TO MAKE THE TOOTH HEALTHY AGAIN.

Symptoms can temporarily subside with antibiotic use. But this does not mean the infection is gone or better... it just means the bacteria count and inflammation is temporarily less while on the medication. The symptoms will recur and often be worse than initially. So if your dentist prescribes another round of antibiotics and says this will cure your problem ..... it won't.

Your situation is very typical and seen every day in most dental offices. Conventional dentists will convince you to treat this with a root canal and lead you to believe that the rc or apico will cure the problem. As you can see just on this forum alone.... most of the problems that people write about are related to their root canaled teeth. The stories are repetitively the same because the problem is the tooth remains infected irrelevant of the procedure that is done to it.

I know this information is not what you wanted to hear.... I only provide the facts and speak the truth of the matter to help people become better informed as their dentist is not likely to take the time to do that. If you wanted a second opinion to your current dentist... you may try to seek out a Biological dentist as these dentists understand the consequences of retaining an ill tooth. You could check out www.iaomt.org to see if there is one in your area.

Hope this was helpful to you.....
Bryanna

Hello, Bryanna. Thanks for the bad news. I suspected this might be the problem....an infected tooth. I have read and heard a lot here and elsewhere about the horrors of root canals. I should have gone to my wife's dentist instead of picking one at random simply because the location was easy to get to from where I live. This is one of those mega-dentist franchised places that does volume business and pulls in a lot of patients who haven't been seeing a regular dentist for a number of years. I wrongly assumed that if someone was licensed by the state then they should know what they are doing. The lab they use is 120 miles away. That should have been a clue.

If I'm looking at the tooth chart right this is tooth number 29 on my lower right side. The so-called "bubble" is indeed at the very bottom of that tooth. Apparently the infection moved downwards to that area about a week ago. Prior to the crown work, I had not had any pain or soreness from that particular tooth. The dentist seems to think I did it by biting down too hard on that side and that stressed the tooth or actually he said it was the nerves that surrounded the tooth that were damaged. I did not go out and eat hard bulky food soon after the crown.

What really irks me is I have paid these people around $10,000 thus far and here it is 6 months later and I'm facing the fact that I might lose a tooth, something that hasn't happened since 1966. I am not paying these people any more money to screw up my teeth and put my health at risk. I had planned to have the bottom front teeth crowned as well but no way will I gamble with those teeth. Now I am hesitant to even allow them to correct the problems with the other two crowns that have to be replaced. I will see what they say Friday. I don't understand why he permanently capped a tooth that may have been infected. Surely I did not get an infection during the time I had the temp. crowns on.

If the tooth has to be extracted then the only alternative would be an implant or a bridge, right? I am not interested in this wackadoo root canal business nor the apica-root scraping routine. Both procedures sound like something right out of a CIA/NSA anti-terrorist interrogation training manual right next to the chapter on how to waterboard someone til he or she confesses. At 66 and with four cardiac stents I'm gambling each time I sit down in the dental chair it seems to me. Infection. That's all I need to deal with. And here I was thinking it would be a piece of cake to get a few teeth crowned and be on my merry way.

Sorry you put out so much money. I had a permanently crowned tooth become infected as well. No RC in it, but there was decay under the crown. I don't understand how this happened either. It did lead to me loosing that tooth, because when it was found, it was into the middle of the tooth.
Dentists charge alot of money, and sometimes these MEGA places just don't care enough to tell you the truth, or treat you correctly.
Get that dentist that is well educated. It took me alot of time to find one.
All myh best to you. ginnie

Have learned so much from you all's posts. Wish I'd read them a year ago. Be well, all!

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