Originally Posted by sandhya (Post 832508)

I have feel stuck between a rock and a hard place with so much information....good information. I have read the perils of root canals (not only bacteria but mine have curved roots) and the perils of taking this tooth (14) out with a long root in the sinus cavity. I have been to dentists who want to only to do a root canal and a dentist who wouldn't take it out because there could be so many problems because of the long root in the sinus cavity. And on top of that no one wants to take off the crown to see if there is a cavity under it and to see in what condition the tooth is really in for fear of going into a root canal.

The tooth has had an infection in it on different levels for the last year and a half.......so far I am good at keeping it down but not getting it to go away (this also may have been to my detriment as I have had the infection so long in this body). Above the tooth about one inch up is a bump with the infection in it that goes up and down...... Every time I get the courage up and make an appointment with a dentist...... I end up coming home still stuck as they say to do something different that what I come to do.

First two wouldn't take the crown off to look to see if decay was under there......the third dentist's secretary who I scheduled a root canal with wouldn't let me talk to him first to ask a few questions about the difference to take it out or do a root canal (I would have to pay $94 for this info).... the next dentist would take it out but didn't want to rush it so told me to come back the next day to a different dentist to extract it.........this new dentist said he didn't want to cause me pain and go to a specialist to do this extraction but he really recommended a root canal and proceeded to tell me the perils of taking the tooth out........ I went for another consultation to another dentist (free) and he said go to a root canal specialist not to take it out.

I am not a candidate for an implant due to the way a tooth next to it is (couldn't afford it anyway). The bone seems good from the x ray they say. I can't do a bridge .... perhaps a partial for the space. On that top left side it is the only tooth that would be gone. On the bottom right side a back molar is gone (nothing there) from when I was a teenager and the teeth did move a bit.

I am a female, sixty, and no dental insurance. So far I have been able to pay to take care of my own teeth. Now it could be very expensive if the Perils were to manifest themselves in either direction I went. Now I am caught in my own catch 22 of fear which way to move. Dental chairs and authority are not my favorites....wish I could take care of it myself with herbs and non invasive treatment. I looked up the tooth chart and corresponding organs, etc. My mouth in general is okay with a little bit of everything done in it. I feel stuck and possibly creating other issues such as decay and infection in this "damned if I do and damned if I don't" thought and fear so I freeze (old dental traumas) ..... and on top of this finding dentists who reflect my stuckness.

I have read all the most of the posts regarding the roots in sinus cavity and molars and a few others. Luckily at this point I have no sinus symptoms or allergies or problems in this area.......Infection running in the body is my main concern right now and I don't like to take antibiotics . I use herbs that you mentioned plus some Chinese herbs that have helped to keep it down.

Anyway thanks for listening and if you have any thoughts about this please let me know. Appreciate all the caring and insights everyone has shared as well as the thorough medical sharings. It is great to be informed especially if I can match a dentist up whom has all this knowledge and uses it and that I can afford.

I am on Maui..... Perhaps I should fly to Mexico (buddy pass) and try out a good clinic there that friends know. I might be able to afford better care....... Right now when I finally make a decision I then draw in a dentist who is thinks opposite of me as to what should be done in that moment. I walk out of the office not getting the procedure done I came in for. It is kind of funny when you think of it.....5 dentists total in about one and a half years.....1 of them in the last two months .......3 of them in the last week. It is getting ridiculous but I am sure learning a lot about teeth out of it. Being one of the dental trauma clients I swear I bring this on out of my own fear of making the wrong decision or fear of having the wrong dentist. Like I said IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION that I am not seeing? Mahalo and enjoy the day.......

Originally Posted by flygirl7 (Post 832311)

Thanks, Bryanna. I hadn't started yet on my regimen for the extraction, and you've reminded me about arnica! It is very useful. I use a lot of homeopathic stuff on my toddler for teething or colds (which he rarely gets because he's been supplemented with D3 since before birth). Even for his one and only ear infection, we went to the chiropractor rather than take antibiotics.

I haven't used Culturelle or Pearls, but there are some shelf-stable probiotics now, which is GOOD because most people didn't know to refrigerate them anyway. I may take a look for Culturelle.

I figure I will have the one side to chew on, so while I won't be eating nuts for a while, I will be able to eat most things. I'm going to take antihistamines/decongestants for the week prior to dry out my sinus so that he can put in the graft at the same time. I also have become a fan of Smart Silver for any immune system challenge--the chiropractor gave it to me, and from what I've researched as well, it's helpful. Not cheap, so it's not my every day therapy, but useful when you're stressed or feeling like something is coming on.

Luckily, raw milk is sold in my state, so I can drink lots of that while I'm healing! Someone had asked which tooth, and technically, it's #14, my upper left molar. Dang root goes straight up about an inch. It's the longest root any dentist has ever seen. On the other side, the roots bend, so no problem over there.
Stacy

Originally Posted by Bryanna (Post 832703)

Hi Stacy,

It may be helpful to take some decongestants a few days prior to the surgery date. However, I would not take them for 12 hours prior to the extraction or for 48 hours post op because you don't want to minimize the oral secretions during or immediately after the extraction.

With all of the cold and virus germs going around, the smart silver may be helpful in preventing the immune system from becoming bogged down. I would take that 2-3 days leading up to the extraction, the day of and a few days post op. Is that similar to what you had planned?

I would be cautious of certain foods during the first week or two. Anything spicy or hot (temp) can aggravate the surgical wound. Also avoid anything with seeds... hard crusty bread....sharp crunchy foods and anything through a straw.

The root of this tooth may be long, but it's a blessing that it's straight and not curvy because it's usually easier to remove a straight root than a curvy one!!

Bryanna

Originally Posted by clegs (Post 832861)

Hi Bryana,

I'm still struggling with this dental area so I thought I'd bug you again. It's now three weeks since my extraction of the 7th tooth on the upper right quadrant. That area is healing beautifully and seems to be fine at the point of extraction. Xrays show no sign of infection in the sinus or abcess around other teeth.

The problem is that I'm still have some throbbing in the area that moves a little into the sinus cavity on some days and into full headaches on others. I have been back to see my oral surgeon a number of times as well as an endodontist to check the teeth next door. They've done bite tests, cold tests, lots of tapping and although there doesn't seem to be sharp pain in any of the teeth, there is this persistent throb. I'm on 300mg of Clindamycin, four times a day and am almost done 2 weeks of that. The oral surgeon is hesitant to remove any more teeth because he can't definitively find a problem with any of them (the throb is general to the area). I agree with him on that and respect his decision not to pull until he's sure but I'm frustrated because it will seem to get better for 2 or 3 days and then will come back and I'm still needing to take Aleve to dull the throb.

I guess I'm wondering more about things like jaw infection now. The oral surgeon suggested that a jaw infection would produce swelling and pus (which I don't have). Can it be more silent than that? What sort of definitive test might help me out here (bone scan?).

Any help is always much appreciated....

Carly

Originally Posted by flygirl7 (Post 832733)

Hi Bryanna: great minds think alike! :winky:

That is exactly my plan....I'm going to start Sudafed 12 hr tabs a week before and stop the day before. I don't plan to restart....I'm just using it to dry out the sinus. And the smart silver I plan to take a few days before, after the extraction sometime that day and then for a few days after to get the healing started. It's pretty neat stuff.

I've eat weird compared to most people--I don't eat bread (so the crunchy bread isn't a problem!), and I don't really care for spicy food. That's a good reminder on hot food, though, as I really like Tulsi tea (great for the immune system also!), but I usually end up drinking it lukewarm anyway.

Is it just the first 2 weeks that food is particularly a risk? I had my wisdom teeth out 20 years ago, so I don't really remember the recovery, except that it wasn't bad.

Yes, the roots are looooooong and straight on this side. I'm a freaky one in that my lower molars all have 3-4 roots, not just 2, but the uppers are normal with 2 roots. It should be pretty clean for him to remove.

Thanks for your advice, and if you think of anything else that would help, shoot me a note.
Stacy

Originally Posted by clegs (Post 832861)

Hi Bryana,

I'm still struggling with this dental area so I thought I'd bug you again. It's now three weeks since my extraction of the 7th tooth on the upper right quadrant. That area is healing beautifully and seems to be fine at the point of extraction. Xrays show no sign of infection in the sinus or abcess around other teeth.

The problem is that I'm still have some throbbing in the area that moves a little into the sinus cavity on some days and into full headaches on others. I have been back to see my oral surgeon a number of times as well as an endodontist to check the teeth next door. They've done bite tests, cold tests, lots of tapping and although there doesn't seem to be sharp pain in any of the teeth, there is this persistent throb. I'm on 300mg of Clindamycin, four times a day and am almost done 2 weeks of that. The oral surgeon is hesitant to remove any more teeth because he can't definitively find a problem with any of them (the throb is general to the area). I agree with him on that and respect his decision not to pull until he's sure but I'm frustrated because it will seem to get better for 2 or 3 days and then will come back and I'm still needing to take Aleve to dull the throb.

I guess I'm wondering more about things like jaw infection now. The oral surgeon suggested that a jaw infection would produce swelling and pus (which I don't have). Can it be more silent than that? What sort of definitive test might help me out here (bone scan?).

Any help is always much appreciated....

Carly

Originally Posted by sandhya (Post 832508)

I have feel stuck between a rock and a hard place with so much information....good information. I have read the perils of root canals (not only bacteria but mine have curved roots) and the perils of taking this tooth (14) out with a long root in the sinus cavity. I have been to dentists who want to only to do a root canal and a dentist who wouldn't take it out because there could be so many problems because of the long root in the sinus cavity. And on top of that no one wants to take off the crown to see if there is a cavity under it and to see in what condition the tooth is really in for fear of going into a root canal.

The tooth has had an infection in it on different levels for the last year and a half.......so far I am good at keeping it down but not getting it to go away (this also may have been to my detriment as I have had the infection so long in this body). Above the tooth about one inch up is a bump with the infection in it that goes up and down...... Every time I get the courage up and make an appointment with a dentist...... I end up coming home still stuck as they say to do something different that what I come to do.

First two wouldn't take the crown off to look to see if decay was under there......the third dentist's secretary who I scheduled a root canal with wouldn't let me talk to him first to ask a few questions about the difference to take it out or do a root canal (I would have to pay $94 for this info).... the next dentist would take it out but didn't want to rush it so told me to come back the next day to a different dentist to extract it.........this new dentist said he didn't want to cause me pain and go to a specialist to do this extraction but he really recommended a root canal and proceeded to tell me the perils of taking the tooth out........ I went for another consultation to another dentist (free) and he said go to a root canal specialist not to take it out.

I am not a candidate for an implant due to the way a tooth next to it is (couldn't afford it anyway). The bone seems good from the x ray they say. I can't do a bridge .... perhaps a partial for the space. On that top left side it is the only tooth that would be gone. On the bottom right side a back molar is gone (nothing there) from when I was a teenager and the teeth did move a bit.

I am a female, sixty, and no dental insurance. So far I have been able to pay to take care of my own teeth. Now it could be very expensive if the Perils were to manifest themselves in either direction I went. Now I am caught in my own catch 22 of fear which way to move. Dental chairs and authority are not my favorites....wish I could take care of it myself with herbs and non invasive treatment. I looked up the tooth chart and corresponding organs, etc. My mouth in general is okay with a little bit of everything done in it. I feel stuck and possibly creating other issues such as decay and infection in this "damned if I do and damned if I don't" thought and fear so I freeze (old dental traumas) ..... and on top of this finding dentists who reflect my stuckness.

I have read all the most of the posts regarding the roots in sinus cavity and molars and a few others. Luckily at this point I have no sinus symptoms or allergies or problems in this area.......Infection running in the body is my main concern right now and I don't like to take antibiotics . I use herbs that you mentioned plus some Chinese herbs that have helped to keep it down.

Anyway thanks for listening and if you have any thoughts about this please let me know. Appreciate all the caring and insights everyone has shared as well as the thorough medical sharings. It is great to be informed especially if I can match a dentist up whom has all this knowledge and uses it and that I can afford.

I am on Maui..... Perhaps I should fly to Mexico (buddy pass) and try out a good clinic there that friends know. I might be able to afford better care....... Right now when I finally make a decision I then draw in a dentist who is thinks opposite of me as to what should be done in that moment. I walk out of the office not getting the procedure done I came in for. It is kind of funny when you think of it.....5 dentists total in about one and a half years.....1 of them in the last two months .......3 of them in the last week. It is getting ridiculous but I am sure learning a lot about teeth out of it. Being one of the dental trauma clients I swear I bring this on out of my own fear of making the wrong decision or fear of having the wrong dentist. Like I said IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION that I am not seeing? Mahalo and enjoy the day.......

Originally Posted by Bryanna (Post 833071)

Stacy,

I love Tulsi tea!!!... the peppermint... red mango... lemon ginger ... green!! Which flavors do you like? They are so delicious and definitely have therapeutic affects!!

I too have a "weird" diet... as compared to a lot of people. I basically eat to live and I'm very mindful of the source of my food. My co workers always bust my chops about my brown rice and veggie lunch. They call me "bird" because I snack on raw veggies, fruit and nuts throughout the day! I raised my daughter to eat the same way... she's grown up and married.... still eats this way!

Generally, yes it is the first 2 weeks of careful eating. It really all depends on how quickly the site heals and if there are any complications.

I think you are going to do fine!

Bryanna