[carmellaann]

I recently had a root canal retreatment on tooth number #14/upper left side. The day after, it became excruciatingly painful--the whole left side of my face, particularly under my left eye hurt in an arc over my cheek, back to my jaw and down around underneath my bottom teeth--burning, hurting, like I had been punched in the face. No swelling outside or in gums. No fever. Just intense, horrific pain. The tooth itself--agony. My bottom left teeth started to hurt and ache, in particular the last tooth in the back on the left. Yet, all those teeth seemed to hurt or ache in turns. The endo said this was common and would resolve. In this condition, I was placed on four courses of antibiotics every time I called the endodontist and she saw me three times over four weeks: penicillin vk, clindamycin, keflex, and then back to penicillin vk. I stopped after one day of clindamycin as it burned my stomach and made me nauseated. In two weeks, I lost 17 pounds. The following two weeks I lost about ten pounds. I couldn't eat. Finally, my sister, a nurse, called the endodontist, and my mother called the dentist and apparently asked them to do something definitive to end this agony--as I had done nothing but lose weight and lay in bed and cry for four weeks. My dentist then called me and said I had been brave and valiant about the tooth, but now it should be extracted. I was so happy...and crying...The tooth was extracted without incident. The oral surgeon said it was a rough extraction (although I felt nothing) and it might take a little longer to heal. I think, in the meantime, I had a bit of a nervous breakdown from the pain and suffering that came before. I had to see my regular doc and asked her if I could do a short course of klonopin for the anxiety and crying...I was such a mess. I was frightened, in pain, sick...

Things are beginning to calm down now, at two weeks out but I am still having some minor pain across my cheek, in the two teeth on either side of the extraction...and some aching in the lower teeth for which I must take pain medicine (tramadol with breakfast and dinner and vicodin at lunch time). The pain does seem to be slowly receding--and the extraction site is healing--but slowly.

My biggest concern and question is about these bottom teeth...why are they taking turns aching and hurting so badly? They were examined prior to all of this at a regular appointment and were fine, and I had no pain in them until all of this happened. Will this pain resolve?I am terrified that this pain will not resolve. Not sure why anything is still hurting. Is it referred pain from all of the trauma on the teeth and gums above? I am 50 years old. I will never have another root canal so help me. I hesitated about the retreatment root canal but was afraid to "lose the tooth" and ended up losing it anyhow. I have five teeth left with silver amalgam fillings from the 70s--and the rest of my teeth are my own--mostly my front teeth on top and on bottom. As the teeth go bad, I will just have them extracted. I refuse to suffer like I did --ever again.

What do you make of this phantom like pain on the bottom teeth after all the trauma on the teeth above>? What do you make of the pain across my cheek (it also comes and goes--and is lessening in intensity as the days pass)?

Thank you for any response...