Hi Bryanna,

I had my second and only root canal extracted yesterday by an oral surgeon here. It had started to pain as I had written in my earlier thread. There was an abscess also. I told the surgeon that I wanted the periodontal ligament to be removed and also diseased tissue and bone if any. He did scrape out something with a curette and irrigated with saline simultaneously and then put stitches which will be removed after 7 days. The rest is in God's hands.

He prescribed me Cephalexin 500 mg for 5 days. My question - is Cephalexin sufficient or correct for a root canal infection ? If not what other antibiotic could have been given along with Cephalexin 500mg ? Can I take metronidazole 400 mg thrice a day for 5 days ?

Regards,
Amit.

Hi Amit,

Cephalexin is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections of various areas of the body including the oral cavity. So yes, it is used for oral infections such as yours. I would take what he prescribed and not change that unless you have specific reasons to do so.

Take good care of yourself and I hope your healing is uneventful.

Bryanna

Bryanna,

Ideally after how many days should the stitches be removed ? The stitches are not self dissolving sutures.He has put normal stitches.

Regards,
Amit.

Amit,

Generally non absorbable sutures are removed 7-10 day post op the extraction. Some circumstances require them to be in a bit longer. What did the oral surgeon recommend in your case?

How are you feeling??

Bryanna

Bryanna,

I have some pain at the extraction site as it is healing. What I am worried about is the infection as it heals. The food particles get clogged in there and also in the sutures. So I just had the doubt if sutures themselves might cause an infection.

I use a chlorhexidine mouthwash dilluted after meals. But they cause brown staining I have read. What else can I do to prevent an infection.

Regards,
Amit.

Bryanna,

Also can I use Betadine gargle instead of chlorhexidine . If yes for how many days maximum ? I asked my dentist he said you may use either use chlorhexidine or betadine. Which one is good ? And for how many days can it be used ? He also asked to do warm salt water rinses. Can you tell me when should I do each of these. ? I mean betadine after meals and salt water rinse after breakfast or how ? Can you explain more.

Also the stitches were put by an oral surgeon. It will be removed by a dentist. Is this OK ? Because the surgeon will be out of town.

Amit.

Hi Amit,

My personal preference as far as rinsing goes is to use warm salt water only. The reason being is that salt is the most natural and powerful antiseptic on the planet, it is therapeutic to the oral tissue, won't stain your teeth and I personally avoid using chemicals as much as possible. At this stage of the post op you can start to rinse more aggressively meaning you can swish the rinse a bit harder than just sloshing it around in your mouth. That will help reduce the bacteria in the debris that gets stuck to the sutures.

It is fine for the general dentist to remove your sutures. If you feel that the site is not healing well or are concerned about an infection inside of the socket, you can have the dentist take one xray of that area. It is way too early for new bone to have formed and be evident on the xray but a blatant infection would be apparent on the xay.

A little pain or soreness is normal for the first week or so after an infected tooth is removed. Signs of a problem are onset of intense pain several days after the extraction, late swelling, fever, swollen glands.. things like that.

Bryanna

Bryanna,

My dentist removed sutures yesterday. He said it has healed fine. Today morning,I tried to eat an apple and it pressed upon the extracted tooth site and started bleeding. I took a cotton swab put some Betadine gargle on it and placed there. The bleeding stopped and the clot formed again. I was quite frightened. I shouldn't have eaten an apple. I removed the cotton swab after 45 min , then drank water and ate ice cream to help it clot nicely just after an extraction..
I showed the dentist today evening and he said it is fine and asked me to eat only soft food.
The question that is worrying me is 'Is betadine safe as I used it ? It contains iodine. It must have gone in my stomach as I drank water. Iodine is toxic. My dentist has also asked me to do Betadine gargle 4 times a day for next 7 days.

Is it poisonous ? I dont know what to do. Please help. I am so worried.

-Amit.

Amit,

Iodine is toxic when too much is ingested. With that said, it is not something to just drink or use foolishly. Iodine can also be problematic for some people with thyroid disease.

Why is your dentist recommending betadine rinses?

Unless there is a specific reason to use betadine, the most therapeutic rinse is warm salt water. It is a natural disinfectant, antiseptic, non irritating, non staining and no chemicals to worry about ingesting.

The bleeding that occurred when you ate the apple was not really clot related as the clot had already formed and did it's job. So the bleeding was due to the chewing of the apple as it caused irritation on the raw surgical site. So it is best to refrain from chewing on that site until the gum tissue closes over. Eating a nutritious soft food diet is ideal again until the gum closes over.

Try to relax, you are doing okay
Bryanna

Bryanna,

I am feeling OK now. I have now two premolars removed on my lower left jawbone and one premolar on the upper left.

What is the best option to replace them in future ? I am doing some research on implants etc.

I really fear implants as I have read even they carry health risks. I have read that Titanium when embedded into the bone causes something called as galvanisation. It may also cause autoimmune disease or exacerbate an already existing one.
Also I have read that during the process of fixing titanium implants there is a small risk of alveolar nerve damage which may be permanent and extremely traumatic and painful. I know there are Ceraroot fully metal free Zirconia
implants but my dentist here said they carry fracture risk. Also they are way expensive. The dentist here says Titanium is good because it osseointegrates nicely into the bone. I really dont know who to believe.

So what other option do I have other than an implant. I really fear something embedded into the bone as per my internet search,all biological dentists say implants carry serious health risks.

Is there an option where nothing is embedded into the bone?

Regards,
Amit.