I got this tooth out because of low grade pain symptoms in my ear, jaw and gum for almost a year. I thought that extracting the root canal tooth would help, and worst case would no nothing. I wasn't 100% sure it was the cause of the original pain but it made the most sense being the gum was sensitive near it and it was a RCT tooth of 20 years of age with a dental file stuck in it! I never thought extraction would make it 1000 times worse. I could live with the pain before. I cannot live with this type of pain the way it is now!

nukuspot,

There was no question that the tooth was infected as all root canaled teeth are and the gum issue was indicative of the bacteria spreading. So at this point the site looks okay clinically and radio graphically. Motrin calms the pain down... indicating inflammation is present. The pain prior to the extraction was in the ear, etc. So what is the verdict on you having a bruxism habit?

Did the dentist say if the endo file had perforated the tooth?
Any chance you could post a pre op xray of that tooth?

Hi! Thanks for getting back to me. The endo file did not perforate the tooth, thank goodness. That was the first question I asked the dentist who did the extraction. It was stuck in the root. I asked to keep the tooth after extraction (it is cut in half and I *think* I can even see it in one of the halves!) It is really visible on the pre-op xray. I am not sure how to post it but I will try!

The TMJ doctor I was referred to during the last year (I saw no joke, 6 different dentists/specialists) said that it did not look like I had bruxisim but that I might have a night clenching issue. My left TMJ joint clicks and my jaw has a S shape movement when I open. That was why he made the hard plastic nightguard. I think I mentioned it that I find it very uncomfortable, it goes on my top teeth and it's very hard to fall asleep with it in. I always wake in the morning and it is sitting next to my pillow which means I subconiously take it out in the night. I am not sure how long I wear it for. He adjusted it for me and I don't think that it's the fit that I object to, it's the huge lump of hard plastic on my top teeth/palate that leaves no room for my tongue. So I don't really know if it helps or not. I have not worn it since the extraction because I did not want to add to the discomfort.

The holistic dentists I have seen didn't put much faith in the TMJ diagnosis, strangely.

I will work on figuring out how to post that pre-op picture of #19 with the file!

I think it worked! Should I try to get a copy of the apical xray from today to post to compare?

These were taken in Feb.

PS--You might pick up on the fact that the tooth in back of the RCT looks like it has a cavity under the filling. Every new dentist I see asks me about that. It is in fact what they tell me is an old fashioned composite which looked radiolucent on Xray, they don't use that type anymore. I think it was done sometime in the early 90s. My usual dentist has been checking it out for years and came to that conclusion that it is not decay, it is the actual filling that looks like that since it hasn't changed shape in the last decade. Just in case it jumped out at you!

Ps Bryanna,
Totally off the subject but I saw in another thread you live in NJ. My family lives there and my mother keeps telling me there are no holistic dentists she can see. Since you live and possibly work there, maybe you can give me some names to pass to her!

Oh! I found some more recent ones! These are from my recent cleaning and checkup in May, about 6 weeks before the extraction. I am sure they look pretty similar but I'll post them anyway.

Hi nukuspot,

Thanks for posting the xrays! I will answer all of your xray posts in this one post.

Clenching.... this habit can literally alter the anatomical alignment of your upper and lower jaw and the pressure that is put upon your teeth and muscles is unbelievable. I found a very informative description of bruxism on this dental site. I am not affiliated with this dentist, have no idea who he is.... just that he wrote an informative piece on this topic. So I'm sharing......
http://www.arizonafamilydental.com/s...inding-bruxism

The last molar on your left with the dated composite filling has the root structure of a wisdom tooth. Which is evident when the roots come together in a cone shape. Just curious if it is your wisdom tooth...? Anyway, if that filling is more than 10 years old it may behoove you to have it replaced as all composite restorations break down over time as they wear out from chewing. You can talk to your dentist about that and see what he thinks.

The piece of the broken endo file in tooth #19 appears to have perforated the large canal space. Which means that the dentist perforated the canal during the procedure. When that happens, the space the file went into is so tight that he can't back the file out again. So the file breaks off in there. This is a constant irritant and the bacteria is microscopic so it is rarely picked up on an x-ray. Rather than get into that explanation with you because it basically says "oops"... most dentists will just say, a file broke off inside the tooth. There are several issues with the way this rc was done but in the large scheme of things, they are irrelevant.

If I remember correctly you said that there were pieces of gutta percha that had to be scraped out of the socket when the tooth was removed. Is that right or was that someone else here....? ;/ I ask because I can see pieces of gutta percha around the mesial root (root on the left) and if they were found in the bone or tissue, then that indicates that the tooth was perforated during the root canal procedure or how else would they have gotten beyond the tooth..?? This tooth was a lot sicker than it appeared radio graphically.

Do you have a post op xray of this area that you could share?

There are not many holistic or biological dentists in NJ. At least not many who advertise themselves as one. Where in NJ is your mom? Give me a zip code or general idea of the area.

Thank you for reviewing the xrays!

Yes that was me with the gutta percha fragments. I'm surprised you see them on the xray. No dentist had mentioned them at all, and it want until surgery that they found them.

The dentist that did the RCT was a family member and he never told me about the file. I had no idea it was in there until recently. Can you let me know what the other issues with the root canal were? That might help me more easily come to terms with the extraction. With the pain now being worse than the original pain it's hard for me to feel like I did the right thing getting it out. I have to keep telling myself that it was poorly done and needed to come out.

I don't have the post op xray yet. I requested it but they didn't email it to me. Once I get it I will post it here.

So based on the info, do you think that clenching is causing the pain I am experiencing and it's not a surgery complication? Other than the hard plastic appliance, which I will give another try once I feel healed enough to do so, do you have other suggestions for what I can do? If it happens in sleep I don't have control of it.

My mom is at the Jersey Shore! Near Seaside Heights.

Oops I forgot to answer a few questions. The molar at the back (18) is not my wisdom tooth. That's just my molar. I had the wisdom extracted on that side a few years ago. Is it significant at all the roots look like that or is it just interesting?

I will speak to the dentist about getting that composite redone. I still have two amalgams that I have to put priority on replacing. I have been desperate to get them out for years but my dentist does not want to touch then while I'm breastfeeding. I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 7 years. As soon as my baby weans I am going to get those finally out of my body, but I'm trying to be patient because I don't want to wean her just for dental work.

Ok this is REALLY my last question for today, promise!!!

The premolar in front of the extraction site is still very sensitive. I haven't tried to chew on that side due to pain and also the hole still being open from the surgery but sometimes my teeth hit over there when talking or chewing on the other side or I accidentally hit it with a spoon while eating soup. All those are still very very tender. I tapped the teeth in that area with the back of a spoon and it is for sure the one in front (#20) that is hurting.

I mentioned this earlier and I also mentioned it to the dentists over the last 12 days since extraction and the common consensus is that sometimes the tooth gets traumatized during extraction of its neighbor but it settles down. Is 12 days a long time for it still to be this sensitive? I'm just so scared that it was damaged in some way. I never ever want to be in the position where I need to get another root canal, but I also don't want to get any more extractions either. I think one of my life's goals from this experience is to just want to keep all the rest of my teeth healthily and pain free as possible.

How long is TOO long to still have a sensitive tooth to pressure or chewing after an extraction? At this point even if I wanted to I woujdbt be able to chew on #20. It is better since the extraction for sure, last week just talking hurt it, but it's still not a normal feeling tooth. I still have that weird feeling it's either too big or too close to my tongue too. I asked the dentist yesterday if he could maybe file a bit of it down but he was very reluctant to do that. I guess holistic dentists don't mess with occlusion much because they want to keep all tooth structure intact?