Hi all,


hoping someone can give me some guidance or reassurance on my current situation. 15 days ago I had my right lower pre molar extracted due to an abcess at the bottom of the root which had been there for some time. The tooth had a root canal 18 months earlier which was unsuccessful and then I saw an endodontist for a 2nd root canal in April 2015... Again this failed so I opted for an extraction rather than trying more expensive private treatment.

The only way the tooth could be extracted was with a nerve block due to the infection causing pain and whilst a long extraction, it came out in one piece which I was glad about considering the previous root canals and crown. However, I am still in a pain with it 2 weeks later... I was told I had developed a dry socket and have been back half a dozen times for packing, the socket now appears at least to be completely covered by new tissue (scab) but the site is still very sore when prodding (through the cheek) and I still have a throbbing pain throughout the day/night. The pain has got better, I can now use salt water rinses without it stingy like mad, but it persists and is driving me nuts!

The pain is like a throbbing which at occasions radiates to just under my ear, when moving my jaw around it feels like something hard and sharp is in the socket as I can feel pressure (I had this feeling before with precious extractions but always subdued by now) and it feels similar to the infection throbbing I had before the tooth was removed.

I was on lots of antibiotics before the extraction and have been on both a 5 days course of amoxicillin (500mg 3x a day) and Metrodonazole (400mg 3x a day), but the mild/moderate pain persists. Just FYI, I am not taking any pain meds apart from the occasional ibuprofen so I can live with this pain but it's making me miserable and increasingly anxious about my lack of healing. When I google search this it comes up with horror stories of infections that spread or are antibiotic resistant.

Please help me with what I should do next?

Hi MagicMadjeski,

Root canals are performed to "retain' an unhealthy tooth for an uncertain amount of time. The procedure, irrelevant of how many times or how well it is done, cannot cure an infected tooth because there is no access to the microscopic canals rendering the tooth chronically inflamed and infected. Any tooth that remains infected is going to eventually deteriorate the integrity of the tooth and the bone. The progression of the infection depends on the condition of the tooth as well as the systemic and oral health of the individual. Not all infections offer tell tale symptoms of the severity of the problem which can mean that a serious tooth infection can linger unbeknownst to the individual.

It is possible that you still have a dry socket and/or a piece of splintered jaw bone in the surgical area. Did the oral surgeon take an xray at your most recent visit?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

Thank you for your reply, I am going back today for a clean and check up so may ask to have an X-ray taken to see if anything was left behind. I didn't have many symptoms before it came out other than sensitivity to hot and cold and some slight occasional pain when biting down. But thinking back through appointments, the infection was probably there for about 2 years!

So I'm hoping it just takes longer to heal... I think the dry socket is healed as I'm no longer in the same level of pain as before and can see a grey/yellow covering, but the socket is still really deep. I will post my X-ray results once I have them.

So I had an X-ray taken which shows nothing in the tissue which is good. The dentist said it still looks sore but said it is healing... Slowly. I'm almost at 3 weeks after the extraction and there is still a hole with some "scab" but it's getting smaller and the gum is taking over.

Surprised it is still hurting a bit and hasn't healed up yet as previous extractions healed a lot quicker. I guess it was the dry socket or infection or both that has caused this delay.