Hi folks!

First time posting here, although I've been reading this very helpful forum for some time. I'm a 44 year old male with no health issues before this, so here's my story...

Feb 2012, I had root canal treatment done on #24/#25 lower central teeth after an abscess flared up. Prior to that I had no pain, but had noticed that #25 had become a bit loose. I was told I had periodontal disease, and there was a nasty looking black area below both teeth on the x-ray. The endodontist said that it was a 'borderline' case, but that it was worth attempting the root canal in the hope that the teeth could be saved, and hopefully the bone would regenerate and the teeth would fuse back to the bone over time.

Other than that, I had been feeling somewhat light-headed for a couple of months prior to this. I had hoped that the root canal would solve my light-headed symptoms, but I would never have guessed the nightmare that was about to follow!

2 weeks after the root canals, I went out to a party and drank a bit too much (I don't drink often!), so was sick the following morning. For the next couple of days, my throat burned and I could hardly swallow, which had never happened to me before. Over the next couple of weeks, I started to feel really dizzy and had a sharp abdominal pain around the spleen area. I went to my doctor, he reckoned that I might have suffered internal bleeding after the party, and put me on medication. It didn't really help much, and so followed a series of hospital tests (endoscopy, MRI, ultrasound) over the next couple of months, all of which were clear. Blood tests were also clear, with occasional elevated white cell count. The dizziness and abdominal pain continued, other symptoms started to appear (brain 'fog', feeling drunk 24/7, a salty/blood/metallic taste in my mouth, chronic fatigue, and problems focusing my eyes) and I was barely able to function.

Fast forward to August 2012, and another abscess flared up at #14 upper molar, which I'd ignored for a long time, and at that stage, most of the crown was gone. My dentist gave me a course of antibiotics and then extracted the tooth. The morning after, all my symptoms disappeared! I couldn't believe it! I was elated, convinced that the old molar was to blame all along, and my life returned to normal. Until 2 weeks later, when I went for a cleaning with the dental hygienist. By the time I walked back to my car, the dizziness had returned. I was gutted.

I was finally suspicious of the root canals, as all my symptoms had started shortly after they had been done. I saw my dentist, he took another x-ray and said that they were fine, and in fact were healing very well, with excellent bone regeneration. I asked him if he could have missed anything when he extracted #14, and maybe some infection could have been left behind but he said no, that he got it all. I asked him if he could prescribe an antibiotic course, and he put me on a combination of Amoxicillin/Metronidazole. After 7 days my symptoms were gone again, and I was back to normal, but after a couple of weeks the symptoms returned again. This continued through the winter, and I started experiencing occasional throbbing pain where #14 had been extracted.

Fast forward again to March 2013, and after a period of swollen glands in my neck and painful glands in my armpits, I had another round of antibiotics, this time with a violent reaction (shivering/shaking for a week), from which I finally recovered by taking a course of probiotics. This time I asked my dentist to refer me to an oral surgeon to investigate the extraction site. The oral surgeon thought he noticed a dark area on my last x-ray, I asked him if he could do a surgical debridement, and he ordered a CT scan to investigate further. After several weeks waiting, I had the scan in the first week of May. But when I saw him a week later, he said that the CT scan appeared normal, and as there is a risk with any surgical procedure, he was reluctant to open up the old extraction site and debride the socket based on the evidence.

I then made an appointment with a different dentist for a second opinion, which happened last week. He took a panoramic x-ray and pointed out a dark area around #25 (the RC tooth that had been loose in the beginning). He suspected an infection and suggested an apicoectomy, but said that I would have to return to my original dentist and follow up with him. I asked him about extracting both RC teeth and replacing with a bridge/implants, but he refused and just said I wold have to return to my original dentist.

So, back to the oral surgeon again! My most recent visit with him was a few days ago, where we discussed the extraction site again, because that's the reason I had been referred to him. He said that in his experience, CT scans are sometimes only 75-80% accurate, and that a follow-up scan should be done again in a few months time. I then asked him about the likelihood of root canal infection based on my symptoms, and told him about my visit to the second dentist. I explained the understanding I now have of the root canal procedure - that the large canals are sealed up, the small canals are inaccessible and remain infected, and that it's a case of sealing up what they can and 'hoping for the best'. His answer was "essentially, yes".

I told him that I've had such a nightmare ever since the root canals were done, that at this stage I'd prefer to have them extracted. I asked him about a bridge or implants, and he said that in his opinion, he would recommend a bridge based on my previous periodontal disease. He said that implants are the 'gold standard', but are not maintenance-free, and several hygienist visits would be required every year to make sure they don't fail. He went on to say that he had recommended against implants to other patients, but they went elsewhere, had implants fitted, and then returned to him 2-3 years later, looking for help when the implants failed.

So, the final part of that discussion was him saying that I have to return to my dentist, discuss the situation with him, and he can refer me back to the oral surgeon. Oh, I forgot to mention that I ended up in the emergency room 2 weeks ago with a badly swollen submandibular gland, so when I told the oral surgeon about this, he sent me for an ultrasound. I have an appointment with him next week to discuss the result.

I also now have an appointment with my dentist earlier on the same day, and I will be asking him to take fresh x-rays of the RC teeth and the extraction site and to email them to the oral surgeon.

What a mess! And sorry about the long-winded post, but I wanted to make sure I included all the details...

Any thoughts would be very welcome!