Hi I am a 21 year old male and have had a root canal for at least 5 years. I went to the dentist and they said this root canal, which is on tooth 30, was failing and had an infection. The x-ray showed it had a black mark around the root of the tooth to which my knowledge means the bacteria and thus infection has migrated to the jawbone and is becoming systemic. This makes much sense to me as I have been experiencing tooth, jaw, and even collar bone and arm pain in the same exact area coming from the infection. It seems like the whole right side of my body is alarmingly suspect.

I was given a referral slip to an endodontist. I was also given a referral slip to an oral surgeon because he wants me to get my wisdom teeth out. However, I care much more about the RC than the wisdom teeth at the moment.

So here's the thing...I do NOT NOT NOT want anything other than extraction. No Root canal re treatment, no crown re treatment, etc. NOPE. I'm already aware how toxic root canals are. Now my goal is to extract it as soon as possible because it's ruining my health and has been for years.

So my question is:

Who and where do I go in order to set up the soonest possible arrangement to have my tooth extracted, and more importantly have the practitioner agree with me that they are willing to extract it. I'm sick of hearing this "save the tooth" BS. How about save my health instead and pull the damn tooth???

Should I try to go to a biological dentist who knows what they're doing??? Even if it might take a month from now to get an appointment???

Or should I go straight to an oral surgeon who would agree that my tooth needs to be pulled. And more importantly, how will I know if the oral surgeon knows what he's doing? In other words I want all the infection gone, all of the tooth gone.

I can't trust normal MDs or dentists because all it's done is ruin my health. So I need to find a qualified person (dentist or surgeon) who can assist me ASAP in getting my tooth extracted. I really do NOT want to see an endodontist and give me a rant about how he needs to 'save the tooth' or redo the root canal. NOPE!!!

Any and all advice is appreciated, I am having symptoms as I speak so obviously the sooner it's done the better, and I know there's no other option.

Thanks in advance!!!!

Hi Mike,
So sorry for what you have to go through at such a young age! I want to caution you against using a biological dentist for this. I have a friend who had an infected molar extracted by a very reputable biological dentist. There were complications during the procedure and it took over 2 hours to remove the tooth. To make matters worse, she had a dry socket after this. She regretted using the biological dentist and wished she had used a good oral surgeon. She had a subsequent extraction using an oral surgeon and there were no complications. (I used an oral surgeon to extract an infected, root canaled molar last June and there were no complications after this as well...) I hope this helps!

Not sure what kind of doc. you want, but I went to a very good oral surgeon. You are very educated on the RC. Any doctor that says to save this tooth over your health should not be in your life. I had my RC out too! Don't wait for the month. This infection isn't doing you any good in your body. Go as soon as you can. MOST oral surgeons have good backgrounds. You can look him up on line too and see what his patients say. ginnie

Hi Mikeulf,

How refreshing to see that someone so young has done their own research on root canals and understands the systemic consequences with keeping a sick, dead tooth in their mouth!! You are so far better off to deal with this problem at your age than you would be if you waited as the bacteria will only spread to adjacent teeth causing further damage. Thank you for coming here and sharing your personal story and insights with us!!!

I will re-post some of your questions and answer the in bold type.

<<I went to the dentist and they said this root canal, which is on tooth 30, was failing and had an infection. The x-ray showed it had a black mark around the root of the tooth to which my knowledge means the bacteria and thus infection has migrated to the jawbone and is becoming systemic. >>

ROOT CANALED TEETH DO NOT FAIL... THEY ARE CHRONICALLY INFECTED AND INFLAMED. THE RADIO-GRAPHIC BLACK MARK AROUND THE TOOTH, SOME REFER TO THIS AS A CIRCLE, INDICATES PROLIFERATION OF THE INFECTION.... JUST AS YOU STATED.

<<<Who and where do I go in order to set up the soonest possible arrangement to have my tooth extracted, and more importantly have the practitioner agree with me that they are willing to extract it. I'm sick of hearing this "save the tooth" BS. How about save my health instead and pull the damn tooth??? >>>

YOU WOULD SEE AN ORAL SURGEON FOR THE EXTRACTION OF THIS TOOTH. OR YOU COULD SEE A BIOLOGICAL DENTIST WHO IS SPECIFICALLY TRAINED TO PERFORM ORAL SURGERY AND ONE WHO PERFORMS IT ON A DAILY BASIS. YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK ON THE IAOMT.ORG WEBSITE TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY BIOLOGICAL DENTISTS LISTED IN YOUR AREA. IF SO, THEN CALL THEIR OFFICE AND SPECIFICALLY SAY WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. IF THE OFFICE SEEMS VAGUE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE.

IRRELEVANT OF WHICH OF THESE DENTISTS YOU DECIDE TO GO TO, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU MAKE THESE THINGS VERY CLEAR TO HIM....

**YOU HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF KEEPING THIS TOOTH AND THAT YOU WANT IT REMOVED.
**YOU WANT THE DENTIST TO REMOVE THE TOOTH IN IT'S ENTIRETY... THOROUGHLY DEBRIDE THE BONE OF THE PERIODONTAL LIGAMENT AND ALL NECROTIC TISSUE AND BONE.
**ONLY PLACE A BONE GRAFT AT THE TIME OF THE EXTRACTION IF THE REMAINING BONE IS HEALTHY AND NOT DISEASED.

SOME DENTISTS WILL TAKE OFFENSE TO BEING TOLD THIS WHILE OTHERS WILL COMMEND YOU ON BEING SO KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT. DON'T LET ANYONE'S DEMEANOR GET IN THE WAY OF EXPRESSING WHAT YOU WANT.

If you send me a personal message with a general idea of where you would be looking for an oral surgeon or biological dentist.... I can take a look too and see what information I can gather from their websites, etc.

dbpei,

I would be remiss if I didn't interject here about your post regarding Biological dentists. Your friend may have had an unpleasant experience with her tooth extraction but that does not mean that ALL Biological dentists are unqualified to perform oral surgery.

If you skim through some of the threads on this forum about tooth extractions, you will read many of them talk about post op complications especially dry sockets. The majority of these people went to either their conventional general dentist or an oral surgeon.

It is not possible for a lay person to know the difference between a qualified dentist and one who is not. People generally base their dentists "abilities" on their personality and the personal experiences that they have had in their dental chair. I'm sure you would agree that one patient could have a positive experience and the very next one could have a different outcome as many factors play into the experience itself.

Dentistry is in desperate need of some major changes and Biological dentists are trying to make those changes happen. Please let's not belittle their efforts as they are so necessary for the betterment of everyone.

Mikeulf,

You might find this site of information interesting. I cannot vouch for this group of dentists but their information is amazingly accurate!

http://www.biodentistrydrvizcarra.com/?s=8&sub=6

Bryanna, thank you very much both for that post and your previous reply! I'm not sure how to go about private messaging you, but the location for a good oral surgeon/biological dentist would be northern michigan around petoskey/harbor springs. A 1 hour driving radius is considerable.

I could also arrange something downstate near metro detroit if there were notably better options down or near there. Finding a good surgeon is at the top of my priority list in terms of removing the tooth. Thanks again and let me know if you have any suggestions!

Mikeulf,

I didn't find anything of interest in your neck of the woods on the IAOMT website. The closet oral surgeon I can come up with is this one... http://www.nmoms.com/index.html

Another one in metro Detroit who has dual degrees DDS and MD.....
http://www.summitfacial.com/meet-us/...sguthorpe.html

Have you heard of either of them?

I cannot personally vouch for their proficiency but their websites are very to the point and free of the gimmicky bells and whistles in trying to sell you the perfect smile. One of these dentists may be a good place to start with a consultation. If you decide to give them a try, I would have your dentist email your x-rays over to this office prior to your appointment.

Keep me posted.

Bryanna,
I did not mean to imply that biological dentists were incompetent! I have been to many of them and even traveled for weeks over 200 miles each way for ozone therapy! I thought that for a root canaled molar, you would need an oral surgeon because of the depth and complexity of pulling a root canaled tooth.

My friend went to one of the most reputable biological dentists in New England for extraction of a deep molar and it turned out to be a terrible mistake for her. I was just trying to share that information so people can make better decisions for themselves.

I have one root canaled tooth left (#30 also) and am scared to have any dentist extract this - biological or traditional. I am in the process of trying to find an oral surgeon willing to extract this tooth even though it does not appear to be infected on x-rays. The very reputable, out of state biological dentist who I have seen says he is able to do the extraction, but thinks an oral surgeon will be best for this.

dbpei,

This recent statement is a bit different than your original one but it is still eluding to the idea that your friend had a problem because she saw a Biological dentist.

<<My friend went to one of the most reputable biological dentists in New England for extraction of a deep molar and it turned out to be a terrible mistake for her. I was just trying to share that information so people can make better decisions for themselves.>>

I need to point out that it is not unusual for a tooth extraction to take an hour or two ... it depends on the individual circumstance. Years ago I had tooth #18 removed by a board certified oral surgeon which took over 2 hours because it was ankylosed, which means the roots were fused with the bone. In cases like mine, it is best to take your time with the extraction and tease the roots out of the bone rather than forcefully remove them. That could have been what your friend had with her tooth as it is not an uncommon condition.

Also, a dry socket can occur with ANY tooth extraction. Yes, it could occur due to something the dentist did or didn't do, absolutely. But most often it occurs for other reasons beyond the dentists control. For example: unhealthy condition of the jaw bone, extensive infection, patient does not comply with post operative instructions, patient smokes or is in poor health, certain medications contributing to dry mouth or those that prohibit the immune system from doing it's job, and the list goes on and on.

I am just making a general statement here with the point being that anyone can have post operative complications after oral surgery in spite of who performs the surgery. To reduce the chances of that from happening... first it is best to seek a referral to someone who performs tooth extractions on a daily basis and let that dentist know that you want the most thorough job possible .... and secondly it is imperative to follow the post op instructions and not slack off with them or your own health afterwards. Do these things guarantee you will be fine 100% of the time, of course not. But they do reduce the possibility. That is all I am trying to say.