Hi Mark,

So the recently root canaled tooth is now suddenly decayed.... is that what this new dentist told you?

Mark, something is just not right here. Each dentist keeps telling you the root canal if fine... the tooth is fine.... and now the root canal is fine but the tooth is decayed and needs to be extracted. Obviously the tooth has been decayed and unhealthy for this whole time. The root canal procedure may have been done textbook and on an xray the procedure itself looks fine. Which only means that there is no evidence of a poorly done root canal. However, decay does not happen overnight and why hasn't anyone other than this new dentist told you that the tooth was decayed??

I am so sorry you are going through this. Hopefully once this tooth is out you will start to feel better. Be sure to ask the dentist if there is any sinus involvement when he removes the tooth. It would also be wise to tell him to be sure to remove the periodontal ligament and any diseased tissue and bone when he removes the tooth to help avoid post operative problems. I know it sounds silly to have to request that but it is never wise to assume that those surgical steps will be taken automatically.

Please check back with us when you are recovering. Try not to worry too much about this and please take good care of yourself.

Bryanna

Please excuse me as I'm not up to date with the proper dental terms etc, I made an appointment with another dentist & just asked if he could go over my teeth & let me know if anything needed doing , I never mentioned any problems etc.

He did the cone beam scan & then put things inside my mouth & took more x rays, it was then he noticed something wasn't right on that tooth I had root canaled, I then went into detail about some problems I had been having & how I thought that tooth could be responsible for them.

He said the root canal area looked okay but other parts of the tooth were badly decayed, & I'm not 100% sure but there is a possibility there might be a little hole under it or words to that effect. He said you wouldn't bother trying to fix it as it's dead anyway & when he said extraction was the only option it didn't take me long to agree.

I have a few things elsewhere that need some work but would worry about that later, if removing the tooth made me feel better all good & if it didn't it would need to come out anyway he said.

Just of note when I 1st went back to the dentist who did the root canal he only did the cone beam scan & not a x ray, he did the percussion test & that tooth was the only tender one but as it looked good on the scan he didn't pay to much attention to it.

I will ask the dentist those thing you said

Kind regards Mark

Mark,

please understand that I think you have described everything very well here! It is the lack of proper diagnosis from the dentists that you have seen before this current one that has been the problem. You have endured unnecessary dental treatment on a tooth that was decayed beyond repair. And you were told by one of them that the next tooth over needed a root canal when it turns out it does not. I just feel very badly for you and hope that you have now found an honest and competent dentist, because you really deserve it.

Please let us know how things go. I'm sure you will be fine.

Bryanna

One last question , is it safe to have the tooth pulled while you have a slight cold/runny nose ?

Regards Mark

Mark,

Generally it is not a good idea to have oral surgery if you have a cold or sinus infection. Do you think it is possible that your cold/sinus drainage could be related to this tooth?

Yes it could be , I guess I should call the dentist & see if he wants me to postpone ?

Mark,

You should call the dentist and say you are having either a cold or sinus problems and think it may be related to that tooth. It is his judgement call to treat you or not. If he says to come in, then ask him to look at the xray first and see if he thinks the sinus could be related to the tooth infection. This will bring more attention to both issues and he may prescribe antibiotics and see you next week or he may not. But yes, inform him first and then again if he does say come in.

Hope that helps........... keep us posted.

Hi Bryanna

I had the root canaled tooth removed a couple of months ago & are feeling better for it.

Just a new question, cause I'm now missing the upper left wisdom tooth & recently had the one next to it removed I feel when i'm biting down i'm reaching for the missing teeth & sometimes I notice I'm clenching, I have been having neck muscle problems & sometimes down into my arm. Should I be looking at replacing that tooth & in so hopefully that should ease the muscle problems ?

Hi Bryanna

After long a long battle I was finally diagnosed with Celiac disease just recently. I have started to feel better now since starting a gluten free diet etc, (still not 100% though). It's interesting as after having the previously root canaled tooth removed (15) that the only root canaled tooth left remaining that I have is tooth number 13, I checked on the tooth meridian chart & low & behold it connects to the intestines & I have been having neck muscle problems on the left side for over 12 months also & notice that could be tied into that tooth as well.

I am starting to think that this rc tooth that I have could be part of the whole problem. I guess the smart thing to do would be to have that tooth removed ?

Regards Mark

Hi Mark

Until Bryanna finds time to get back to you, I'll just jump in here to say that it's been my experience that the neck and even shoulder pain is most likely connected to an oral infection on the same side of the head. So in your case, if you've had this pain (tightness?) going down one particular line down your neck and maybe sometimes even into your shoulder, I believe it is directly related to some (maybe low grade) infection in either your RC tooth or even beyond it, in the bone around it.

I would definitely remove that tooth, but only by a good oral surgeon. The only problem is, how do you know who is good. He should definitely clean out the bone like Bryanna has explained so many times (to get to a healthy bleeding bone). If he doesn't do that, it is possible that the infection will stay regardless that the tooth is gone, only I think it could be even worse because it would be deep in the jaw bone and not only in the roots (tooth).

Hope you can all forgive me to be this blunt and jumping in, but I just wanted to share my experience in situations when I feel I've had the exact symptoms like you just described it. This particular pain can trick many that it is only muscular, but it is always wise to question that if you also have an infected (or RC-ed) tooth on the same side.