I have one more question. I spoke the the dentist who did the root canal. She suggested taking the crown off. I have a permanent crown on with temporary cement and she said I could easily remove it myself. Will this relieve any pain? I am terrified of doing that, but if it will give my relief until Monday, then I will try it. She said it is irritating the bone and tissue every time I bite down , even if I don't chew on that side. What would you suggest?

danzergurl,

I totally understand and respect your beliefs about pregnancy and no unnatural prevention. However, it is important for you and your husband to be knowledgeable about the significant health risks to you and your unborn child associated with you having a a jaw bone infection. I would hope that preventing pregnancy for a short time to ensure that you are healthy enough to carry a pregnancy without unnecessary risk is certainly something you both will seriously consider.

A bone graft is done to encourage the growth of new bone. The graft stimulates the immune system to send bone growing cells to the surgical site. Those cells integrate with the graft material and eventually turning the graft material into your own bone. With the graft the overall loss of bone is generally about 20% or less. Without a graft, the loss of bone is about 50% or more. So the overall height, length and width of the jaw bone in the site of the extracted tooth will diminish more than if the graft were placed. During this process the immune system is very active with the growth of new bone cells so anything that compromises the immune system, like a pregnancy, can decrease the overall outcome of the new bone growth.

If the upper molar is occluding with #31 and no other lower tooth, then yes that upper molar will eventually drop down towards the open space. Each person is different as to how long a time it takes for that to happen. Did your upper molar on the left side drop down into the open space on the bottom left?

I will reply to your other posts separately.
Bryanna

danzergurl,

Thanks for posting these names.

Both of them are well versed in holistic, whole body dentistry, safe amalgam removal, and alternative modalities to compliment dental care. Langston seems well informed about cavitations which is a plus especially if he is the one to remove that tooth. Cole may also be well informed about that but he doesn't mention it on his site. Cole also is well versed on the use of laser therapy which is very helpful in many instances. Langston may also use laser therapy but does not mention that on his site.

I don't personally know of anyone in Texas to refer you to but I think you would be in good hands with either of these guys. So it's up to you who you feel you would be most comfortable with.

Bryanna

danzergurl,

Removing the crown may or may not subside some of the pressure/pain. The crown is not the problem.... the crown is not irritating the bone as it is above the gum line. The bone is irritated due to the infection that has proliferated from your tooth into the bone. The gum tissue may be inflamed around the crown due to the infection and just the slightest pressure of the crown touching the inflamed tissue can be painful.

Infected teeth have a build up of gaseous pressure inside and removing the crown can be like removing the blanket that is smothering the pressure. However, your tooth is very sick so removing the crown allows the infection to become airborne into your mouth. The bacteria is already in your blood stream and hopefully the amoxicillin is reducing the effects of that. But removing the crown allows the bacteria to be free to roam in your mouth, throat, and digestive system. She should have informed you of this :/

If you plan on getting this tooth out asap.... and you want to remove the crown to see if some of the pressure/pain subsides, then do that. As long as you do not damage the crown taking it off, you can always put the crown back on temporarily. But you will need to keep your mouth very clean, but do not brush that uncovered tooth with your tooth brush as your toothbrush will become contaminated with bacteria and you will spread it even further as you use the brush. Clean the uncovered tooth with a moist q tip and discard it when done. There may be a significant odor when you remove the crown from the infectious bacteria. You can rinse with some warm salt water and even add a drop of peppermint oil to the water to help reduce the odor and taste.

Bryanna

Thank you for all your help and information!

It's Tuesday evening and 1 week after my root canal. My pain is almost gone, still hurts a bit under the tooth, now I am having tingling and numbness in my lower lip and chin. I have read this could be the nerve. Is this caused by the overfill? I pray it is reversible. I am going to an oral surgeon tomorrow.

I should still have the tooth removed, even though it isn't causing pain, right? It's a little harder to make that decision now.

Thank you for looking at the 2 dentists I mentioned. My appt tomorrow is with the oral surgeon who removed my other molar. He did a great job and I never had any pain or problems at all. He was very quick and I had just started learning about cavitations, etc. I remember asking if he cleaned it out and he said "that's what I did right after" I think he just rinsed it quickly.
He is a DDS, MD and FACS (?) Would it be okay if I just asked him to clean it and remove 1mm of bone? Or, do traditional oral surgeons not do this?

Thank you again!
I can't wait for this all to be over!

Tara

I read the other thread that is similar questions to mine…it made me think of one more thing….

My dad has had numerous root canals…however his teeth are never infected to begin with. Does this make his teeth less likely to harbor the dangerous bacteria than a painful and infected tooth?
Since my tooth had blood and pus in it…is it more likely to be a danger to my health?

Like the other poster…I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing.
Thank you so much Bryanna for taking time to answer all these questions!

Hi danzergurl,

Pain is not a reliable indicator of the severity of tooth problems. As an example, early stages of an abscess, periodontal disease, or tooth decay are often not painful until the problem has become widespread. When a root canaled tooth stops hurting, it generally indicates that the bacteria has found a place to drain or migrate to which is not good. However, this process can temporarily reduce the pressure and inflammtion inside of the tooth making the person think that the tooth is getting better.

You did not mention an overfill previously.... did you? An overfill of the root canal material is toxic to the jaw bone and extremely irritating to the surrounding bundle of nerves. An overfill, depending on the depth and location, can lead to neurological issues in areas associated with whatever nerves it is irritating. Some dentists will perform an apicoectomy to try and scrape out the overfill of material from the jaw bone. However, an apicoectomy is a barbaric, invasive procedure that is injurious to the jaw bone and it does nothing to solve the problem associated with the infected nerves still harboring inside the dentin tubules of the tooth.

The proper surgical protocol to extract teeth that is taught in all dental schools is not routinely followed by some dentists. There is not logical or ethical reason for this, it is just one of those things that is sometimes over looked. It is up to the patient to request that the protocol be done. The debridement of the socket after the tooth is removed takes several minutes at least and needs to be thorough. Simply scraping a little bit and rinsing it out is not adequate.

Bryanna

danzergurl,

Your dad's root canaled teeth are not healthy, irrelevant of whether he has obvious oral symptoms or not. His teeth have those dentin tubules that I have talked about and they harbor necrotic nerve tissue.

The more infected a tooth is or becomes, the worse it is. Just like anyplace else in the body. There is no cure for an infected tooth due to the contents of the dentin tubules and it is not biologically healthy to retain a non vital body part anyplace in the body.

The anatomy of our teeth are what they are.... just like the facts about oral infection and systemic health are what they are. It is a personal choice whether or not to retain an infected tooth and no one can make that decision for you.

Bryanna

"The x-ray after the procedure showed that the Calcium Hydroxate had leaked out into the "infected" space. She said it was no big deal at all and would be reabsorbed into the body. "

That is from my first message. I am guessing that is an overfill. The dentist said it was no big deal and would be absorbed into my body, but I have certainly read differently. She said calcium hydroxate is biocompatible. ???

When I have the tooth extracted, will it be easy to access and remove the leakage of sealer? Will that just be part of cleaning it out?

Thanks!
Tara

and thank you so much Bryanna! I was hoping I would hear from you this morning! I am getting ready to go to my appt, so now I feel I am informed and can make a good decision!