[sarajmb]

I had #13 tooth extracted last week. This tooth previously had a root canal, broke and began decaying. I guess my sinus wall is very close to my teeth, leaving not much bone for my teeth. What causes this?

Is this just the way my sinus cavity, wall, bone has always been? I do remember a dentist telling me something about my sinuses do go far down close to my teeth in the past after my check up with x-rays. A general dentist told me she wanted to do the root canal the next day because it may take a long time if the tooth breaks while she extracts it. She wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic to take to prevent an infection from developing, and scheduled my extraction for the next day. I came in, she gave me a local numbing injection and let it settle in for a while and then began.

It was horrible and I was upset afterwards because there was a lot of filing and drilling and pulling and breaking and it was horrible... with no sedation at all. I started to just get over it, but as I go along in my journey, I found out it was pretty unwise to allow her to do this extraction. I should have gone to an oral surgeon, however I was in pain so I didn't look into it..and she never mentioned doing that or that was a necessary.

She stitched me up and sent me on my way and scheduled me to return in a week for follow up and check on the stitches. There were some things said after the extraction that scared me though. She said that she had to do a lot of filing of the bone because it had spread and the bone had turned soft. She said that the molar behind the tooth that was extracted didn't have much bone supporting it but hopefully it more bone would grow around it.

Why would bone now grow around it.. because the decaying broken tooth that had a root canal in the past was removed? When I returned for a check six days later because that same molar hurt, and something seemed like it was moving near the extraction site. (There has been a feeling of stickiness when it touches the tooth below it when I clench my teeth, and I can feel the very slight like gel/sticky layer of something on the bottom of this molar...what the heck is it?)

Her staff did a full work-up of xrays. The dentist took a look of externally said the molar was fine and that I was healing really well, and everything looked great from the outside. She then looked at the xrays for a really long time. She seemed concerned but was not willing to share what she found on there. She now said that the site isn't all way healed yet, but it was just a small hole and it would heal soon. She did a full scan of my mouth and showed me (small so couldn't see detail at all) image on the screen of how my sinuses dipped really far down and said she wanted to be sure there's no hole in my sinus wall, and by looking at it there may be a small hole but she couldn't be sure.

She said that if there was a hole in my sinus wall above where the tooth was extracted it was because of an infection. I went home confused and continued taking 800mg of Ibuprofen. There is a lot more to be said of how I was treated badly at this office, and my questions were discouraged...often told that she wasn't going to tell me everything because I seem to worry too much. I won't even go into detail about the staff person that insisted that this molar next to the extraction site hurt because the nerve is sensitive and that I have sensitive teeth and just needed to use Sensidine toothpaste.

There is much more I could share, but won't because that is not what is going to help me get my questions answered. The next day I took my last antibiotic and by the end of the day my side of my face within the sinus cavity was hurting so badly I could barely drive home. I really distrusted this dentist by now for several reasons, so I wanted a second opinion. Was I really going to be okay to just deal with it until I am checked again in two weeks?
Was it really okay? I may or may not have a hole in my sinus wall... and I am in pain but we are just going to wait two weeks.. no more antibiotic, no care advice...? The 2nd opinion dentist that came highly recommended by several friends (now I know better than to just go to just anyone), and her office was able to schedule me for the next morning. Once I got home I immediately took another Ibuprofen and laid down with an ice pack on the side of my face over my cheek bone and it felt sooo much better that way!

The next day I was still in pain in the same area but it was not as bad. I was careful to tilt me head to the right whenever I drank something. I saw the 2nd opinion dentist. I told her some of what I was told and what I was feeling. They did one x-ray of the tooth (I didn't want this dentist notified, because I wanted to be sure if surgeon needed my records they could get ALL of them... I had no idea of what was found because she was so aloof about everything.

This was the first time I had been to a doctor that didn't show me x-rays of a area in question or an area/tooth they are discussing with me. This 2nd dentist said that it did appear to her like there was a hole and she needed to call her oral surgeon friend and see what he suggests. He wanted to see me that afternoon. 2nd dentist said I should have been on antibiotics still and doing other things to make sure the sinus area was clean.

The oral surgeon sees me has the xray the 2nd dentist took on the large screen in the room but doesn't mention anything he saw on it (I should have asked him to go over what he could see on it, but I was so nervous because of how traumatic that extraction was with that first dentist, so there were questions I had but didn't ask.) I am still unwilling to identify who did the extraction at this point. I was really fearful that he could have a relationship with her and give me bad advice to cover up something she may have done...

I really felt like she had done something, and was covering it up and going to blame it on a different condition so she wouldn't be held accountable for any of a surgeon's bill. Maybe she was afraid of being sued for more than that?..I don't have any intention of doing that though. I just want the truth of what was done and why. So the surgeon asked me some questions like.. was it I sedated.. (not at all)... how did it go.. did something go wrong?.. (I was wondering why the 2nd opinion dentist didn't tell this guy already she said was her friend and was calling for advice, she said she was going to tell him.) I told it was horrible and long and frightening.

I told him I bled changing gauze every 10 minutes for over 12 hours. He asked if I had food and liquid coming out of my nose when I ate. I said I don't think so, he said well you would know... is there liquid pouring out of your nose when after you drink something? I said no, and so he said that is good. He was informative of what he was doing and said I did have a dry socket (the sutchers came out today and he seemed okay with that.)

He was going to stick something up into the hole to see and I THINK it was to see if it went through my nose?... but he couldn't because that dry socket pain and my nerves prevented him from doing so. He then squirted some water up the hole with a syrienge and it hurt really really really bad and he said that was because of the dry socket (I have heard they hurt like that so I don't doubt that.) He also squirted with water to try to clear that area up so he could see up there better. I think he also was looking to see if water came out of my nose, it didn't. I did feel some high up in my nose but it didn't pour out and that was all he was concerned about.

He said if there's a hole it's small because there wasn't liquid or food pouring out of my nose, so he wanted to treat this dry socket first, put me back on some high dosage of antibiotics, have me use that medicated mouthwash. He asked me if there was a lot of filing and drilling going on during the procedure (I thought that was an odd question to ask, didn't he know that by looking?..or didn't he read the file thoroughly and didn't the 2nd opinion dentist tell him?)

I said yes, the (1st) dentist said she ended up having to file a lot of bone because it had turned soft from the decay. He also asked me if she knew that I had sinus problems / fistula before she did the procedure. I said that if she knew then she didn't tell me, and I don't doubt that because there were other things she didn't tell me. He asked me if I was taking narcotics after the procedure, I said no.. just the 800mg of Ibuprofen. I told him that I didn't even know I had sinus problems. ;...

and as another after thought to me when he says it that way it sounds chronic. I see a diff doc in the group for a change of dry socket packing tomorrow morning and possible Monday. Then I see the surgeon on Wednesday again. I seems as though if I want to know anything about what looks like was done I need to ask him direct questions. What do I ask so that I know my health is not at risk? I am not looking for revenge on the dentist, I just want to know... if bone was soft then why was is hard when she filed it? What did he think was drilled?

Are my sinuses low because of something wrong? Why did I get a dry socket when I had stitches, and didn't do ANY sucking, was so careful, don't smoke, only gently let warm salt water pass the extraction site by using gravity. Why did the dentist take soooooo long looking at my x-rays behind me and all she had to say was I may have a small hole in my sinus cavity but it's too small to tell? What was the area filled with that he couldn't see what he needed to look at? Why was he only concerned if food and water poured out of my nose? ...

wouldn't that have been discussed over the phone when his dentist friend had me in the office? I don't doubt the 2nd dentists and the surgeon's ethics and skills. I do trust they will not give me negligent care.. I just don't understand. I hate how I still have no idea why the 1st dentist was so freaked out when the 1st dentist started looking at my x-rays and seemed just as freaked out when she was finished talking to me. Or why the 2nd dentist said there was a hole in my sinus wall by looking at the x-ray she took, but the surgeon wasn't confirming that with the same x-ray but would only if I had food/water pouring out of my nose or once my dry socket healed so he could see/ and stick something up into the area to see if it went through...?

I know some professionals feel that it's okay to do drill something, file something, withhold information they have about your condition, all of these things and it's okay, that it is their choice to make.. but is it really? Shouldn't I know what was done to my own body? Shouldn't I be told if something in my body looks unhealthy and how it possibly got that way? Why the heck did that hygeniest want to clean my teeth when she clearly saw I still had the stitches from the procedure she assisted in? Can someone , hopefully Bryanna, shed some light on this for me? I know I ask a lot of questions, but I feel better when I know what is done and why it is done...... can someone please help with this?

I don't want negative consequences for that dentist. I do plan to continue care by the surgeon and hope that everything turns out okay, and I plan to keep the 2nd dentist as my family dentist from now on.... but I feel like there's so many unaswered questions and it's like they have some sort of loyalty to that first dentist. They are all three affliated with a specific dental school out here. It's difficult to find any dentist or oral surgeon that isn't affiliated with that school in this area.