Hi annikasamper,

Every root canaled tooth causes inflammation and irritation to the surrounding tissue, bone, and nerves. Depending on how long the tooth has been unhealthy determines the extent of the inflammation and irritation. Also, when a root canaled tooth is extracted it is imperative for the dentist to remove all of the diseased tissue and bone along with the tooth. Frequently this is not done as thoroughly as it should be and some infectious bacteria is left in the jaw after the removal of the tooth. In some cases the body will deal fairly well with it... but in other cases that area is never healthy again. Placing a dental implant in unhealthy bone will result in chronic pain. This is the risk that people should be informed about prior to giving the okay to doing the root canal in the first place.


Referred pain is also typical because the bundles and branches of nerves that are in the jaw are all shared by other branches of nerves that are associated with other teeth. So you could be having a situation where you have various areas of inflammation associated with previously and present root canaled teeth which is causing you to have referred pain. Pain to the touch indicates inflammation in the ligament and bone. Pain to temperature indicates tooth decay, an open contact on a filling, a fractured tooth, root recession, and/or periodontal disease.

Bryanna