If I make it through this in one piece I'll never go to another dentist for anything period. This is what I get for not properly researching the problems that could materialize from having that many crowns done this late in life [66 years old] I should have consulted my primary care physician and my cardiologist first.

Hi Murtain,

You're welcome

The antibiotics will temporarily subside some of the inflammation which in turn temporarily subsides the discomfort. It is important for you to understand that no amount of antibiotics will "cure" the infection because the bacteria that is causing the infection is residing inside of your tooth in microscopic canals that cannot be cleaned out. So irrelevant of how much medication you take or how often you take it... irrelevant of what procedure is done to this tooth it will remain infected. As you know any chronic infection in or on your body carries a risk of systemic consequences especially in people who have compromised health and/or any artificial parts in their body. The stents are like magnets to infectious bacteria and your cardiologist should make you aware of that.

Murtain, I am going to be blunt here...... is your main concern your health or the cost of doing the root canal? If you had to pay for that procedure would you do it? Do you believe there is a health great risk in retaining an infected tooth?

You could consult with an oral surgeon and ***specifically tell him you are concerned about the bacteria traveling from your tooth into your heart especially since you have stents.*** Ask him ***what happens to the bacteria inside of the tiny microscopic canals (also called dentin tubules or accessory canals) after the tooth is root canaled?*** Ask him straight out ***does a a root canal procedure render the tooth bacteria free and healthy?***

I know you are distraught about all that you have been through. I just wish dentists would routinely inform patients more thoroughly and honestly prior to performing the treatment. Ugh :/

Bryanna

Hi Murtain,

Actually this is not your fault. Your dentist or someone knowledgeable in his office has the obligation of informing their patients about more than just the financial aspect of a patients treatment plan! He should have consulted with your physicians about the risk associated with doing this type of dental work to determine if you were a candidate for the work and not just make assumptions. Although many physicians truly... do not want to be bothered with this type of phone call as they just assume the dentist would know enough to treat the patient accordingly. The dentist probably would have been given the go ahead by the physician ... however, a well informed cardiologist would have stipulated to the dentist to keep in mind that infection would always be an utmost concern and that would include retaining teeth by doing root canals or apicoectomies.

The irony here is that now that you have all of this crown work... it is imperative that you see your dentist and hygienist regularly for checkups and cleanings!

Bryanna

Murtain,

Anytime a tooth is not fitting properly into the bite the nerves inside of the tooth can become irritated and infection can develop.

However, anytime a tooth is drilled into... there is a risk of infection. The vibration of the drill irritates and traumatizes the nerves... if they calm down great... if they don't infection will develop.

Also, anytime you have an old filling in a tooth..... especially a metal one... the tooth is compromised. The metal filling expands and contracts with hot and cold temperatures and with chewing which causes cracks in the filling and eventually the tooth. Bacteria continuously gets inside of these cracks and decay develops. So for 47 yrs this has been going on with this tooth! There is a good chance that this tooth was unhealthy prior to the preparation of the crown. That may or may not have showed up on the xrays depending on where the decay was located.

Keep in mind that pain is not always a good indicator of a chronic problem. So although this tooth felt fine to you prior to the work on it... in reality it was not in a healthy condition.

Bryanna

Hey Bryana,
My name is charlie. I'm 19 years old. I had a root canal treatment on my left molar tooth on my lower jaw when I was 13. I wasn't given a crown as my dentist recommended against it due to my young age. However I went to another dentist yesterday and he took an xray and said that I have a dormant infection present there. He recommended that I go for an implant and have that tooth extracted. He however didn't warn me about the potential risks with an implant that I found out upon doing research. Honestly I'm really against the idea of an implant or a bridge. I was hoping that there would be some way to cure the infection or reduce it so that i can opt for a crown placement. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please help. I am extremely worried now. Thanks

Hi Charlie!

I wish I could say that there was a way to reduce or cure the infected tooth..... but unfortunately there is not. The infection stems from the necrotic nerve tissue inside of the tiny canals that cannot be cleaned out. So this tooth has been infected for at least 6 years... 13 to 19. Also, be aware that the infection is "not dormant" as that would mean it was not actively growing. That is clearly not the case as the infection has progressed into the jaw bone from the tooth... so it is anything but dormant.

The longer you hang on to this tooth the deeper the infection will become. You are only a good candidate for an implant if the bone is healthy and adequate enough to hold an implant. Your bone may still be okay at this time ... but without question it won't be if you wait.

Dental implants that are placed in healthy bone usually turn out okay!

Your other replacement options would be a removable partial denture or a bridge.

Bryanna

Hi. I found this site through google and am so impressed! I'm hoping you can help me, after many years of not knowing what to do. I had a root canal done on a back top molar..don't know the number, it's next to the last tooth but the last tooth was extracted many years ago. The root canal procedure was excrutiating. I had others that were never this bad. I was told to take four advils and a prescription pain killer all at once and that didn't help. The dentist had to file the roots again and that relieved some of the pain. To try to make a long story short, there was a bubble on the gum for a couple of years after the root canal and crown placement was finished. I had pain but the dentist said there was nothing wrong. I went to a different dentist who sent me to an endodontist who wanted to do some kind of gum surgery or removal. I declined. He gave me two weeks to reconsider and when I went back he strangely changed his mind and said there was nothing wrong with the tooth or gum. I went back to the dentist and he said it was TMJ and would go away on it's own. The tooth hurt so much. It was now three years since the root canal. Several months later he sent me back to the endodontist. At this point the bubble was gone but the pain remained. Even though this guy said, several months before, that the tooth was ok, he now wanted to redo the root canal saying bacteria might be getting in the tooth. He wouldn't guarantee that it would help. So I didn't have it done. Here we are two years later, a total of five years since the root canal and the tooth is hurting every single day now. I used to get a few months of relief but not now. I'm in so much pain and can't take it anymore. I was told over the years that having the tooth pulled would just make matters worse. I'm in the middle of benzodiazepine withdrawal having stopped Xanax two months ago and will not allow anyone to give me benzos for an extraction. I'm dental phobic and my anxiety is heightened during this withdrawal process so it's going to be tough to go through with an extraction but the pain for five years is wearing me down, making me nauseous and shaky when it's at it's worst. I have ear pain now. And facial pain. Any advice you have would help me so much. I've felt so alone with this for five years. There's more to the story concerning the root canal but this is way too long of a message already.
Steviechaser

here I am to add some info about the root canal. The dentist filed the tooth all the way to the gum line after the root canal before giving me the crown, he said there was a crack in the tooth that he had to get rid of. So then there wasn't enough tooth for the crown to be attached to so he dug the gum away, all around the remainder of tooth. There was a deep gulley around the tooth and he left it like that without a temporary crown until the next appointment a week later. Doesn't this mean bacteria could have gotten in there?? I don't know why I didn't get a temporary crown. He walked away and I only got to talk to the assistant who didn't know what to tell me. I had terrible pain the day I went in for the crown but the dentist ignored my complaints. He stuck the crown on and said I was done even though I persisted about all the pain. And the rest is history.I never saw him again. Thank you so much for reading all of this. I really do appreciate it.
Steviechaser

I am not the professional, Bryanna is. I know she will respond to you. Just a couple of things I want to mention. Seek out the surgeon that makes you absolutely comfortable. You have been shuffled back and forth too much. Someone has to be straight up and honest with you. Also there is no need to be fearful, as you can have sedation by IV. That is the least stressful. Your mouth will heal once the infected tooth is gone. No matter how much they mess with it, that tooth hurts. You already know that, and have found no relief. You need xrays of the near by teeth as well.
I am sorry you are hurting. I had my RC teeth out when they acted up. End of the pain, end of the money pit, and I healed just fine. I have a nesbit now, which is fine. I didn't believe in doing the RC over again, or further scraping etc to get rid of an infection that I knew was not going to go away. I have NO regrets. It is true what is said in the post about RC teeth forever being infected. My new dentist has admitted to this as well. The newer dentists I think are better schooled and are more likely to tell you the truth.
Be well, ginnie

thank you so much, ginnie, for the quick reply and concern. I can't get the sedation because it's a benzodiazepine and I'm going through benzodiazepine withdrawal right now. That would start my physical symptoms all over again if I were to get a dose of that. I haven't seen an oral surgeon yet about this tooth so I guess that will be my next move. The dentist who did the root canal has left town. Maybe he was run out of town!! Just kidding. Kind of. Again thank you so much for being here.
I'm feeling hopeful for the first time in five years!
Steviechaser