Dear Bryanna:

I have been searching all over the web trying to understand my issue better and I truly found your responses the most logical, detailed and thorough. Thank you so much for extending your support to everyone here. I am very concerned about a dental issue I have here, I am really seeking your experienced advise and I apologize in advance for being very detailed about it.

I had a root canal treatment on tooth#19 very long ago, I am 31 years now and I only remember it was done when I was back in the grades when I was in school possibly 20 years ago! The tooth had a crown on it and I never really complained of an issue till 3 years ago. I was 6 months pregnant that time and a sudden unbearable pain started on the tooth. I saw a general dentist who thought it was not a good idea to try to have procedures on the tooth while I was pregnant so he decided to give me a course of antibiotic and see if the pain will subside, and it did. I was fine again and forgot about it completely. 2 years later (May 2015) the pain came back again. I went to a dentist, they kept me on antibiotic and pain killers, took x rays the doctor said there was an infection underneath and suggested a tooth canal retreatment. I lost the crown in the retreatment and the doctor kept flushing medicines inside she said these were calcium based medication to fight the infection and make the tooth stronger, these medicines were clear to me in the subsequent x rays as white lines and spots. She initially said it will take around 2 to 3 sessions and she kept monitoring through x rays and the every time the infection was still present. After every session I would have an inflammation in the area and pain as well which was bearable. Doctor kept telling me if it swells too much or pain becomes unbearable to go to her and she would open the filling for the infection to drain.

Around the 2nd or 3rd session a bony hard bump appeared under the tooth, the doctor seemed concerned about it and she said its unusual! She said she won’t give up on the tooth though as the front tooth showed progress but the back root infection was still persistent. I would usually just have the pain on the day of the session and sometimes the day after but not otherwise. I went for around 7 sessions - a session every 3 weeks or a month – The area underneath got really inflamed after the last session and my cheek got really swollen and I was done trying by then and figured out after 7 months the dentist was not able to contain it so decided to seek a second opinion. I went to the best dental center in here, first time doctor peeked inside my mouth looked very concerned with the bump, he took an x ray and suggested an extraction. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic (Augmentin 650 mg) and flygl 3 times a day for a week from the day of the extraction. He said with the source of the bacteria gone (the tooth) and the antibiotic the swelling / bump should go as well.

I extracted the tooth with a dental surgeon in the same center on 13/1/2016. I was extremely worried about the bump at this stage. The surgeon comforted me not to worry and upon extraction he said there was a liaison around the roots of the teeth which caused the infection. He said the bump will reduce but it will take many weeks. I didn’t have pain after the extraction, very light which was perfectly handled with a pain killer. The surgeon asked me to come and see him after a month.

I had other dental issues on the other side so I could not bite, had very light / liquid / soft diet on that week. Felt very week with the tension, change in diet and antibiotic and I was extremely concerned with the bump. I kept touching it all over that week to see if it reduced in size, I barely had any sleep and I was very worried if it could be cancer or a serious problem. I asked the doctor for a quick fix so I can at least bite on this side till I fix the issues on the other side which I did not want to start till this side is healed. I had a bridge fixed since a week now replacing the extracted tooth. I kept asking the doctor about the bump and he seemed less concerned about it, he said it has got smaller but when I asked him if it will ever go he said its un predictable and it might not. He said it’s a very old infection and maybe the calcium medication used in the root canal retreatment has triggered this reaction and the bone got swollen. He asked me not to worry about it now. But I feel very less informed, I really want to know more.

I am very concerned about the bump. I don’t believe it should still be there after the extraction. Yes it has reduced in size by I would say 20-30% but its still there. Its around 1.5 cm in length and about 0.5 cm in width, its oval shaped and it hard like a bone when I touch it but its not painful at all. I told the other doctor about my concern he said we could do a biopsy if I am very concerned but he said he doesn’t really think its required.

Its been a month now and I will see the surgeon (who extracted the tooth) tomorrow for a follow-up appointment. I am not sure what are the right questions to ask here. I want to get comfort. I also started getting eye twitches on the eye at the same side which are very frequent and irritating. I have seen an eye doctor who said it is most probably tension and stress related. The eye twitches started before the extraction but they have increased a lot over the last 2 weeks. Could these 2 problems ever be linked?