Alright, I'll try to make this brief...

Basically I had a root canal that started to really bother me a few months ago. I didn't know much and tried to fight off the infection. You couldn't see anything wrong with the area but the way it felt and the pain told me it was an infection. Finally, I started getting pain in my arm and chest and it was hard to even shower. I immediately called a dentist and went there within a day. I told him I wanted the root canal removed even though he said all the xrays, etc didn't so any problems.

So he removed it (this was about 3 months ago). He told me there was a small infection and he scooped it out (I can't remember the exact words).

The pain in my body (infection had spread?) immediately started to clear up and once the soreness from the procedure went away my mouth felt amazingly pain free. He also filled a cavity with composite that was next to the root canal. I was put on no antibiotics and everything seemed like it was going great.


Now it's three months later and a similar kind of pain is slowly returning. I'm very worried. It doesn't hurt horribly yet, but I started to slowly notice it at night and now I can feel it a little all day. I haven't took a hard look at my mouth but at a glance I can't see anything wrong. I'm worried that the same area where the root canal was removed is infected again somehow.

I'm not sure what to do or what to look for. I would love some kind of advice.

Hi Light666,

I am in the dental field and can offer you some information here.

First just to clarify... all root canaled teeth are chronically infected. Some have symptoms, others don't. But the teeth themselves have a brewing infection inside of the many hundreds of tiny canals as these areas cannot be cleaned out during an rc procedure. So it is just a matter of time before the bacteria spreads to other teeth, or other areas of the body. Sometimes it is just the inflammation that spreads... but that doesn't mean it's a healthy outcome.

The infection that your dentist mentioned that he scraped out was most likely a cyst filled with pus and necrotic tissue. These are typically seen at the apex of most root canaled teeth. This cyst can take weeks or years to form... but in the interim the tooth is infected and inflamed.

I would suggest that you consult with an oral surgeon about the health of that area of your jaw bone and make sure you have your pre and post op xrays with you for him to evaluate. He may take his own xray and/or take a panoramic xray... that would be common and I would let him do that if it were me.

Which tooth was extracted and do you have any other root canaled teeth? I ask that because our teeth are intricately connected to other areas of the body via nerve meridians. So although it is often overlooked, people eventually say they had pain elsewhere but did not make the connection until I asked.

Here is a tooth meridian chart:
http://www.naturalworldhealing.com/D...organchart.htm

Bryanna

Thanks so much you for your help.

No, thankfully, I do not have any other root canals in my mouth. I'm very happy I got the one that I did have removed.

Btw, I looked in the mirror right now and took a closer look. It almost looks like there is a little cut or divot where the missing tooth is and it extends towards the lining of the tooth next to it. The area seemed to heal nicely as it looks, but that thing that I'm seeing, maybe it's a cut or something? If it's possible for me to get a picture of it, can I post it here for your professional opinion?

The pain is very similar to what I was experiencing before, that's why I'm worried it's reinfected somehow.

With that meridian chart, I am unsure which numbered tooth correlates to which tooth in my mouth. I will see if I can figure it out and get back to you on which tooth it is that bothers me.

Light666,

I can figure out what number tooth it is. Just give me the location of it... upper or lower, left or right... molar..... how many teeth from the back?

The divot may be a small incision that was made during the extraction. Yes, if you could post picture that might help.

Bryanna