[scpike19]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and have really appreciated all the advice people have given others, so I thought I'd chime in with my problem.

Two weeks ago, I had a filing placed in my #2 molar (upper left in the very back). The cavity was very deep, near the nerve but the dentist thought he could save the tooth until I was financially able to have a root canal and crown. He mentioned it might have to be pulled if the filling had in fact reached the nerve, but thought it could be saved so I would have a year or so to get the root canal and crown. He packed the amalgam in there very tightly, almost to the point that I was very worried he was getting a bit overzealous, but I nonetheless trusted him to do what was best. He's the dentist, after all.

Well, as soon as the 2 shots of anesthetic began to wear off, I was in excruciating pain, shooting down my jaw and bringing me to tears. I called the office and the dentist agreed to write for Norco to control the pain of the deep filling. It took the pain away but made me VERY woozy and out of it. Over the weekend I ended up using Orajel on it frequently, along with the Norco, and it did nothing to stop the shooting pain or migraines I was now experiencing. I figured this meant the filling wasn't going to work and the tooth had to go.

I called and made an appointment for the extraction for the next day. When the dentist looked at the tooth, he said that it did indeed need to go if I couldn't get the root canal done. I couldn't so they gave me a shot to numb me up for the extraction. OH MY GOSH...it was like liquid fire being shot into my gums! I started bawling and couldn't stop until my face was numb about 5 minutes later. The tooth took no time at all to come out, and I luckily didn't feel any pain during or after the shot wore off. I was given a script for pain meds, and the dentist mentioned I had an infection starting. I asked if I should be on antibiotic, but he said no as the tooth was now out and the infection was only inside it. Minimal bleeding, everything else seemed fine.

I waited to rinse with salt water after 24 hours, and kept up with gently brushing. I had some gum soreness the first morning, but chalked it up to the trauma of the extraction. I felt ok, just tired and not quite ready to take on the day. However, as the day progressed, I began feeling intense sinus pain and pressure, dizziness, and generally just unwell, like I'd been sick and my body was fighting something off. Had a low grade fever of about 99.4, nothing I was immediately concerned about. Eating was restricted to soft food and small bites and I was trying to increase my water intake. The second day I saw two red bumps on my gum near the nearby tooth and discharge coming from the extraction site. I thought the healing process was beginning; the clot was there and I had no residual bleeding. On Saturday evening, I felt awful. Horrible head/sinus pressure, swollen gums, and I couldn't open my mouth wide or smile without pain. Smelly and sometimes salty tasting discharge. I called my dentist, who thought this "was the normal healing process" but offered to call in a script for antibiotics anyway. I picked up the script for Clindamycin 300mg 3x/day for 5 days and have been taking them since Sunday around noon. I have 2 days of the medicine left.

My sinuses, especially on the left side (where the extraction was) HURT. I have had issues with them my entire life, but I am now wondering if there was a sinus communication. My eyes feel and look puffy and every time there is a barometric pressure change, I'm in pain and randomly dizzy. My ears are popping as well. I am now finally able to smile and open my mouth without pain after feeling a pop yesterday afternoon. Still feeling like I am fighting something - tired, little appetite (though I am making myself eat, I know I need to so that I can heal) with horrendous postnasal drip and the lovely heartburn/nausea/etc from the clindamycin.

The gum line near the extraction is now quite sharp and bony, for lack of a better term. The swelling has gone down and the hole seems to be closing now as well.

I'm sure the clindamycin will kick a sinus infection if that's the problem, but what if there's a hole in the extraction site?

Any advice you have would be most welcome. I'm terrified of the dentist as it is, and this experience is not helping that anxiety at all!