Root canals, extraction & 'health mystery'
 

Hi folks!

First time posting here, although I've been reading this very helpful forum for some time. I'm a 44 year old male with no health issues before this, so here's my story...

Feb 2012, I had root canal treatment done on #24/#25 lower central teeth after an abscess flared up. Prior to that I had no pain, but had noticed that #25 had become a bit loose. I was told I had periodontal disease, and there was a nasty looking black area below both teeth on the x-ray. The endodontist said that it was a 'borderline' case, but that it was worth attempting the root canal in the hope that the teeth could be saved, and hopefully the bone would regenerate and the teeth would fuse back to the bone over time.

Other than that, I had been feeling somewhat light-headed for a couple of months prior to this. I had hoped that the root canal would solve my light-headed symptoms, but I would never have guessed the nightmare that was about to follow!

2 weeks after the root canals, I went out to a party and drank a bit too much (I don't drink often!), so was sick the following morning. For the next couple of days, my throat burned and I could hardly swallow, which had never happened to me before. Over the next couple of weeks, I started to feel really dizzy and had a sharp abdominal pain around the spleen area. I went to my doctor, he reckoned that I might have suffered internal bleeding after the party, and put me on medication. It didn't really help much, and so followed a series of hospital tests (endoscopy, MRI, ultrasound) over the next couple of months, all of which were clear. Blood tests were also clear, with occasional elevated white cell count. The dizziness and abdominal pain continued, other symptoms started to appear (brain 'fog', feeling drunk 24/7, a salty/blood/metallic taste in my mouth, chronic fatigue, and problems focusing my eyes) and I was barely able to function.

Fast forward to August 2012, and another abscess flared up at #14 upper molar, which I'd ignored for a long time, and at that stage, most of the crown was gone. My dentist gave me a course of antibiotics and then extracted the tooth. The morning after, all my symptoms disappeared! I couldn't believe it! I was elated, convinced that the old molar was to blame all along, and my life returned to normal. Until 2 weeks later, when I went for a cleaning with the dental hygienist. By the time I walked back to my car, the dizziness had returned. I was gutted.

I was finally suspicious of the root canals, as all my symptoms had started shortly after they had been done. I saw my dentist, he took another x-ray and said that they were fine, and in fact were healing very well, with excellent bone regeneration. I asked him if he could have missed anything when he extracted #14, and maybe some infection could have been left behind but he said no, that he got it all. I asked him if he could prescribe an antibiotic course, and he put me on a combination of Amoxicillin/Metronidazole. After 7 days my symptoms were gone again, and I was back to normal, but after a couple of weeks the symptoms returned again. This continued through the winter, and I started experiencing occasional throbbing pain where #14 had been extracted.

Fast forward again to March 2013, and after a period of swollen glands in my neck and painful glands in my armpits, I had another round of antibiotics, this time with a violent reaction (shivering/shaking for a week), from which I finally recovered by taking a course of probiotics. This time I asked my dentist to refer me to an oral surgeon to investigate the extraction site. The oral surgeon thought he noticed a dark area on my last x-ray, I asked him if he could do a surgical debridement, and he ordered a CT scan to investigate further. After several weeks waiting, I had the scan in the first week of May. But when I saw him a week later, he said that the CT scan appeared normal, and as there is a risk with any surgical procedure, he was reluctant to open up the old extraction site and debride the socket based on the evidence.

I then made an appointment with a different dentist for a second opinion, which happened last week. He took a panoramic x-ray and pointed out a dark area around #25 (the RC tooth that had been loose in the beginning). He suspected an infection and suggested an apicoectomy, but said that I would have to return to my original dentist and follow up with him. I asked him about extracting both RC teeth and replacing with a bridge/implants, but he refused and just said I wold have to return to my original dentist.

So, back to the oral surgeon again! My most recent visit with him was a few days ago, where we discussed the extraction site again, because that's the reason I had been referred to him. He said that in his experience, CT scans are sometimes only 75-80% accurate, and that a follow-up scan should be done again in a few months time. I then asked him about the likelihood of root canal infection based on my symptoms, and told him about my visit to the second dentist. I explained the understanding I now have of the root canal procedure - that the large canals are sealed up, the small canals are inaccessible and remain infected, and that it's a case of sealing up what they can and 'hoping for the best'. His answer was "essentially, yes".

I told him that I've had such a nightmare ever since the root canals were done, that at this stage I'd prefer to have them extracted. I asked him about a bridge or implants, and he said that in his opinion, he would recommend a bridge based on my previous periodontal disease. He said that implants are the 'gold standard', but are not maintenance-free, and several hygienist visits would be required every year to make sure they don't fail. He went on to say that he had recommended against implants to other patients, but they went elsewhere, had implants fitted, and then returned to him 2-3 years later, looking for help when the implants failed.

So, the final part of that discussion was him saying that I have to return to my dentist, discuss the situation with him, and he can refer me back to the oral surgeon. Oh, I forgot to mention that I ended up in the emergency room 2 weeks ago with a badly swollen submandibular gland, so when I told the oral surgeon about this, he sent me for an ultrasound. I have an appointment with him next week to discuss the result.

I also now have an appointment with my dentist earlier on the same day, and I will be asking him to take fresh x-rays of the RC teeth and the extraction site and to email them to the oral surgeon.

What a mess! And sorry about the long-winded post, but I wanted to make sure I included all the details...

Any thoughts would be very welcome!

Wow - you have certainly been through a lot with your health. I hope the best for you. I would imagine taking those two root canalled teeth out would help you a lot.

Good luck! Gretchen :)

Thanks Gretchen! It's reassuring to read some of the other posts here and to know I'm not the only one with issues after root canal. Hopefully I'll have the same kind of outcome I've read about elsewhere - remove RC teeth properly (surgically), and health returns to normal.

Although I'm still not sure what part the extraction has played in all this. I'm hoping Bryanna will reply when she has a chance. Maybe she's seen this kind of situation before.

From my last conversation with the oral surgeon, I'm confident that he will do a thorough extraction. He said that for a bridge or implants, he would extract the RC teeth, scrape down to the 'bleeding bone' to be absolutely sure all infection was gone, and place grafts.

I think I should summarize my situation for Bryanna's sake, as it will make replying easier!

Feb 2012 - root canal #24 & #25, onset of many weird symptoms.
Aug 2012 - extraction #14, symptoms disappeared.
Sep 2012 - cleaning, symptoms returned.
Sep 2012 - antibiotics, symptoms disappeared.
Oct 2012 - symptoms returned and have persisted.

Ok, I can't speak to the infections overall, but I can speak to implants/bridges. Bridges cut down healthy teeth and compromise them. As far as implants go, you need to have great hygiene-brushing, flossing, and I also use a waterpik. I get my teeth cleaned every 6 months anyway, so having them check my implants then is no big deal. If you don't think implants are the right choice, perhaps a partial denture so that your remaining healthy teeth aren't compromised?

I've had crazy amounts of root canals. If have to go count, but I want it was 20+. I regret that. I wish I had pulled them instead of keeping them in my body while infected.

I have personally experienced aggravated health issues because of dental issues. There is no doubt in my mind that dental work can thrash your whole body.

Hi dr teeth,

I am in the dental field for many years and I can offer you some help here.

Your dental problem and possibly systemic issues may be linked to these things....

You have a bacterial infection called Periodontal disease (as you stated). What you may not know is that every minute of the day this bacteria filters through your blood stream. That disease can make you systemically sick. If the disease is not brought under control, then every time you brush/floss your teeth, eat, drink, or have your teeth professionally cleaned, the bacteria get stirred up. A routine cleaning cannot remove the bacteria because it is deep in the tissue and in abundance. Some people will react unfavorably (not feel well) immediately after the cleaning.... others it may take a week or so.

Anytime you have dental work such as an extraction and there is active periodontal disease present anyplace in that mouth, the bacteria from the disease goes to the surgical site. This can cause the area to become infected and/or cause it to heal very slowly or incompletely.

Root canaled teeth.......
All root canaled teeth are infected because there is no access to the tiny canals which harbor infectious bacteria. Black areas seen on an xray at the apex or near a root canaled tooth always indicate infection and most often indicate that a cyst is forming in the bone. Re treating a tooth with another root canal or doing an apicoectomy will not reduce or eliminate the infection inside of the tooth. The only way to "cure" the infection is to remove the source which are the rc teeth.

In your case you have infected teeth and periodontal disease. No wonder you are feeling so poorly!

Your drinking event that lead to you becoming ill... sounds to me like your immune system is overwhelmed with your dental infections and since intoxication burdens the immune system you are what is referred to as a "host" for becoming ill which means when something triggers your compromised immune system it responds in the form of ill health.

Antibiotics will temporarily subside your symptoms because what you have is bacterial. However, they cannot cure your problems.

It would not be wise to retain any infected teeth if you are concerned about your overall health because they can make you very ill. Infected teeth also destroy the bone structure that holds the teeth in the jaw which will make replacement of those teeth compromised if not very impossible other than with removable partial dentures.

Have you done anything to treat the periodontal disease? How long have you had it and how severe is it? Do you have regular dental care every six months?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna! Thanks so much for your reply - I really appreciate your help.

This makes a lot of sense!

I wasn't aware of this, and it too makes a lot of sense. I wonder if this is the reason I'm still getting an occasional throbbing from the extraction site of #14, almost a year later?

Would this be a retention cyst? The oral surgeon mentioned this as a possibility from the extraction last year, but that has apparently now been ruled out based on the CT scan. However, the new x-rays in a few days may show something different again.

Boy am I sorry I ever went to that party! I hardly ever drink alcohol as a rule, maybe once or twice a year... But it sounds like these symptoms would have happened anyway in some shape or form.

Thanks Bryanna. I need to discuss replacement options with my dentist and the oral surgeon.

Yes, I have had regular dental care since this happened last year. But I had allowed the dental visits to lapse before that, which is why I'm in this situation now. As for the periodontal disease, there hasn't been any specific treatment for it, other than the root canals. All I know is that my x-rays from a few months ago looked a LOT better than the x-rays taken before the root canal work was done. The periodontal disease hasn't been discussed since, which had led me to believe it was resolved.

Hi dr teeth,

You could be getting throbbing from the extraction site if there is a infection brewing from a granulomatous cyst (from the original infection) and/or a sinus infection. Did you have a dental cone scan or a routine ct scan? The scan needs to be modified for dental only.

You wrote...<<<<Yes, I have had regular dental care since this happened last year. But I had allowed the dental visits to lapse before that, which is why I'm in this situation now. As for the periodontal disease, there hasn't been any specific treatment for it, other than the root canals.>>>

ROOT CANALS ARE NOT DONE BECAUSE YOU HAVE PERIODONTAL DISEASE. DID YOUR DENTIST TELL YOU THAT? ROOT CANALS ARE DONE TO ALLOW A PATIENT TO TEMPORARY RETAIN THEIR INFECTED TOOTH $$$$. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS HARSH BUT IT IS 100% FACT. TEETH THAT HAVE SEVERE GUM RECESSION CAN BE VERY SENSITIVE. SOME DENTISTS WILL TELL THEIR PATIENTS TO HAVE THESE TEETH ROOT CANALED SO THEY ARE NO LONGER SENSITIVE. THE HUGE PROBLEM WITH THAT IDEA IS THAT THE HEALTHY TOOTH THEN BECOMES UNHEALTHY AND THE BONE NOW STARTS TO BECOME DECREPIT FROM THE SICK TOOTH. THE ALTERNATIVE TO ROOT CANALING THESE GUM DEPRIVED TEETH IS TO PLACE TOOTH COLORED FILLINGS ACROSS THE AREAS THAT ARE EXPOSED AND SENSITIVE.

<<< All I know is that my x-rays from a few months ago looked a LOT better than the x-rays taken before the root canal work was done.>>>

THE THIS MEAN THE XRAYS LOOK WORSE SINCE THE ROOT CANALS WERE DONE?

<<<The periodontal disease hasn't been discussed since, which had led me to believe it was resolved.>>>

PERIODONTAL DISEASE IS NEVER CURED. IT CAN BE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL BUT NOT CURED. DO YOU HAVE DEEP POCKET READINGS OVER 3 MM'S? DO YOUR GUMS EVER BLEED AT ALL? ARE YOUR GUMS PUFFY AND/OR RED? DO YOU HAVE BAD BREATH?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

I asked if it was a specific dental scan the day I was in the hospital, and was told that it was mouth, jaws and bone structure. The oral surgeon said that the scan showed inflammation in both sinuses, but was otherwise ok. The scan report said that all was normal apart from sinus inflammation.

No, I was told that both teeth were probably dead due to periodontal disease. The endodontist tested both teeth (#24, #25) for cold sensitivity and I felt nothing. I was told that both teeth were dead and needed root canal treatment to be retained.

No, the x-rays looked much better several months after the root canals were done, and I was told that the bone had regenerated very well.

I haven't had any deep pocket readings done. Gums don't bleed, not puffy or red, and I don't have bad breath.

I have an appointment with my dentist and oral surgeon tomorrow. I will be asking my dentist for a written referral to the surgeon for both RC teeth to be extracted, and what my replacement options are. Would you agree with this? Do you have any advice as to what else I should be asking?

Thanks again for all your help with this, Bryanna!

dr teeth,

I didn't see your post yesterday.... what did the oral surgeon say today??

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

My dentist took some x-rays and said that the RC teeth are not looking good (dark areas around the roots). He said that the options would be re-treatment or extraction, and given my range of symptoms and the fact that the onset of the symptoms coincided with the initial RC, that surgical extraction by the oral surgeon would be the way forward.

I then saw the oral surgeon, he looked at the x-rays and he agreed that the RC teeth are not good. But before proceeding with the extraction, he wants to investigate my submandibular gland first (it swells slightly every time I eat), so I'm waiting for a CT scan appointment. He said that he wants to rule out the possibility of my symptoms being caused by some sort of long-standing chronic inflammation/infection in the gland. The ultrasound of the gland from last week showed no stones, but he wants a CT scan to be sure.

Bryanna, in your experience, have you seen this kind of submandibular gland behavior as a result of RC infection?

Hi dr teeth,

A couple of things....

Dark areas around the roots of root canaled teeth indicate that the bacteria from inside the tooth has spread to the bone. This does not mean that the infection has "moved out" of the tooth and into the bone making the tooth healthy again. It means the tooth and the bone are diseased. I just wanted to clarify that for you and everyone reading this.

Re treatment will not alter the infection because it will not remove the dead infected nerve tissue inside of the tiny canals.

I concur with the oral surgeon ..... remove the infected teeth, clean up the bone. It is wise to have the scan to evaluate the submandibular gland. Yes, infected teeth can and will infect the glands. This is just another health risk associated with "retaining" a chronically infected and/or root canaled tooth that is never explained to a patient prior to performing the rc procedure.

The scan may or may not be totally conclusive with the origin of the infection in the gland unless it shows a direct tract from the area of the oral infection to the gland. But that still would not rule out the correlation between the two. The scan will give the surgeon a clearer view of the total picture which is important to know before he removes those teeth as this will offer him a particular approach in treating this both during surgery and post operatively.

What did the surgeon say about the #14 site? How is that area feeling by the way?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

Thanks for the excellent info.

I'm glad to hear that you agree with the surgeon. I'm strangely reassured to hear that infected RC teeth can infect the glands - it just proves even more to me that the RC teeth are probably to blame for all this. I really hope that once the source of the infection is removed, the other symptoms will resolve. I've read many horror stories about people who go for years with similar mystery symptoms, and many find that their lives return to normal when RC teeth are extracted.

He didn't say anything yesterday about the #14 site. Last week, he said that in his opinion, it should be left alone for now. I asked my dentist to x-ray it yesterday, and there was no indication of infection. It has been throbbing occasionally, maybe once every few days. Nothing painful, just a mild throb.

dr teeth,

The #14 site... could that be a sinus issue?? Does it throb if you bend over with your head down towards the floor? Or when you lay down?

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

Perhaps it is a sinus issue! A friend once told me about being on holiday and visiting a dentist for an upper toothache, only to find that it was a sinus issue. I tried bending over to see if I could persuade it to throb, but no luck. The last time I noticed it, I paid close attention to it and the throb went up under my eye, so I suppose that might be consistent with a sinus issue?

It usually seems more localized around the #14 site, but as I mentioned, my friend was absolutely convinced that he had a toothache when it turned out to be a sinus issue.

It would be good if the #14 site doesn't need to be opened up again and debrided!

dr teeth,

It could very well be a sinus issue with throbbing that goes up under your eye. It could also be a nerve issue that is healing.

I would inform the doctor doing the scan for the gland to make sure to scan the #14 site if at all possible. Better to get it all diagnosed at once instead of having to do that multiple times.

Bryanna


QUOTE=dr teeth;1002112]Hi Bryanna,



Perhaps it is a sinus issue! A friend once told me about being on holiday and visiting a dentist for an upper toothache, only to find that it was a sinus issue. I tried bending over to see if I could persuade it to throb, but no luck. The last time I noticed it, I paid close attention to it and the throb went up under my eye, so I suppose that might be consistent with a sinus issue?

It usually seems more localized around the #14 site, but as I mentioned, my friend was absolutely convinced that he had a toothache when it turned out to be a sinus issue.

It would be good if the #14 site doesn't need to be opened up again and debrided![/QUOTE]

That's a great point, Bryanna! I'll mention it when I arrive for the scan. I got the call today - the scan is next Monday.

Update: I had my CT scan last Monday. It was a scan of the neck, but I was told that it would also go up as far as my sinuses/eyes. So that was good news! I met the oral surgeon on Wednesday for the results. First up, the good news - he definitely agrees that the RC teeth have to be extracted. Then he told me that the scan revealed stones in the submandibular glands - a 2mm stone in the left gland, and a 4mm stone in the right gland. They're located too far into the glands to be fished out with an endoscope/basket. He told me that he would not be too concerned about the small stone, but he is concerned about the larger one. The only option he can offer me is surgery to remove the right gland.

Bryanna, I'm sure you know the sort of risks with this surgery - possible facial nerve damage and/or numbness of the tongue. I know you think more holistically than most doctors/dentists/surgeons, so I would be eager to hear your thoughts. I found another post on this forum where you mentioned a homeopathic approach for stones. The thoughts of surgery because of a tiny calcium stone seems pretty extreme! I did a bit of searching and also found an apparent case of a salivary gland stone being dissolved using Reiki.

In the meantime, my plan is to go ahead with the extraction of the RC teeth as soon as possible, and to look for a practitioner in the field of Reiki, homeopathy or maybe Chinese medicine, and to leave the gland surgery as an absolute last resort. Besides, maybe it's possible that the stone situation might begin to resolve itself when those infected RC teeth are extracted?

Hi dr teeth,

Well I am relieved to hear that the oral surgeon agrees that the lower rc teeth need to be removed! To think that your dentist told you these teeth were okay!! Unbelievable :/

Stones in the sub mandibular glands can cause a decrease in saliva and also a nasty infection. I would be most concerned about what caused them to prevent them from reoccurring. They could be from certain medications, diet, illness, or trauma. Sometimes they form in people who do not drink enough water. Just for an example.

I would also consult a head and neck surgeon for his opinion as they tend to have various techniques in removing the stones.

Yes, consult with a chinese herbalist, nutritionist.... sure!
Keep in mind that something in your lifestyle, diet, etc are causing these stones. Are they related to your dental problems.....maybe. But you have to figure out the cause so you can alter what needs altering to prevent new ones from forming. Then work on dissolving the ones that you have.

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna,

Thanks for the great info!

The oral surgeon I'm dealing with is also a maxillofacial surgeon, so he deals with head, neck, mouth, jaws - the whole lot! He's one of the top surgeons in the country where I live. Would you still recommend another opinion, or would you be satisfied that he's the guy to be dealing with? I've made arrangements to proceed with the RC extractions, and to put the gland surgery on hold for the time being.

Thanks for that! I have found someone, and I will be seeing her once a week for at least the next few weeks. I already feel a bit better after the first session a few days ago.

I will have to wait for a few weeks to get a hospital appointment for the extraction. I'll post updates when I have some news!

Hi dr teeth,

Regarding the maxillofacial surgeon... he is not an Otolaryngologist or ENT physician. So I would consult with one of those before undergoing the gland surgery to see what surgical options there may be.

So what type of alternative practitioner have you decided to see??

Bryanna

Also having a cat scan of sinus
 

Dr. Teeth, you have been through such an ordeal! I have also had some problems with an infected root canaled tooth, which was extracted in June. Although the socket appears to have healed nicely, I still am having some strange sensations on the same side of my face, behind my eye and into my skull. I sound very congested in my sinuses, but do not feel like I have a cold. The panoramic x-rays show some inflammation in my sinus. I called my ENT and was referred to a sinus specialist, who has ordered a cat scan of my sinus. That will be next Wed.

I would like to continue following this thread to hear about your symptoms and whether surgery or homeopathic treatment will help you. Please keep us posted. Bryanna, thank you as always for all of your wonderful insight and wisdom!

Best of luck with your situation, dbpei. I will post updates here when there are any further developments.

It has been a long, strange road, that's for sure! Hopefully when the RC teeth are extracted, my life will begin to return to normal.

Thanks Bryanna! I'll make sure to follow your advice if surgery becomes my only option.

She's a nutritionist and uses Reiki, along with other types of energy work. The sessions so far have definitely left me feeling better! Best I've felt for several months, actually!

I can't wait for these RC teeth to finally be gone!

Root Canals (piece of cake)
 

Root canals are not a problem. I have root canals in almost all my teeth...and now it's time for dentures. Reason? I was a Coca Cola drinker for years. I had Coke at my bed stand at night and would swish it around when I awoke at night if I had a thirst issue. (I know...really dumb...but I was in my 30's and of course, we are invincible at that age.

A week from tomorrow August 19, 2013, I will have all of my remaining upper teeth extracted. I've been wearing a partial for around 5+ years and that has now failed. I am scared to death. I'm a good golfer but the anxiety has me playing the worst golf of my life. (but that's another story)

I have the choice of having implants but am at the age where spending an extra 15k over the 25k all of this is going to cost doesn't make much sense to me. I already have an implant on my right eye-tooth #11 but maybe an implant on my left eye-tooth would be a good idea? Let me know what you think.

Hi archie,

Your statement tells a very clear story for countless people all over the world ....<<<<Root canals are not a problem. I have root canals in almost all my teeth...and now it's time for dentures.>>>

Obviously your soda drinking contributed to your extensive tooth decay. But if the root canal procedure was the "cure" for those decayed teeth.... how come those teeth need to be removed? It sounds like you may have other contributing factors for your tooth loss but the idea of "curing" a decayed/infected tooth with a root canal was obviously a temporary means of retaining those ill teeth and not the cure to the cause of their illness.

I bring this point up in this forum because people are misinformed about the importance of the health of their teeth and without the proper education from their dentist they become so afraid to lose the teeth that are diseased.
Then at an older age....they are faced with removal of these teeth and concerned about wearing a full denture. You are fortunate in that you have been wearing a partial denture because you are already use to how that feels against your palate, etc.

The implant that is replacing #6 your right eye tooth..... how long has that been there? Will they be removing that along with the other teeth?

Bryanna

I have returned with an update! I thought it was the right thing to do, as so many people tend to post when they have problems, and then disappear with no follow-up or resolution to their situations.

So, after months of waiting, my RC teeth were finally extracted 4 weeks ago. It took ages to get a hospital appointment with the oral surgeon, but eventually one was scheduled, and I arrived full of anticipation...

Only to find that when my name was called, it wasn't the oral surgeon doing the procedure! It was one of his registrars. I was quite unhappy about this, and proceeded to explain my situation and history to her. I told her about my previous conversation with the oral surgeon, where he said that he would thoroughly clean and scrape the sockets to make sure all infection was removed. I asked her if she would be doing this, and she said no, that she just had instructions from the surgeon to do a routine extraction of the two teeth.

I then asked her if she would speak to him (he was actually working in the next room) but she refused. She said that he was always extremely specific with his instructions, and if he wanted extra scraping done, he would have given her those instructions. So I was left with a choice to go ahead or refuse the procedure (and possibly wait weeks or months for another hospital appointment), so after her attempting to reassure me that the teeth were the source of the infection, and that the body would heal itself once the teeth were extracted, I let her go ahead with the extraction. However, I told her that I would only sign the consent if she promised me that she would be extremely diligent in cleaning the sockets, and do some scraping to get rid of at least most of the infection.

In her defense, she said that she would go very slowly and gently to try to get the root tips out with the teeth, otherwise she would have to go back in and get them afterwards. Luckily, the root tips came out with the teeth, she then did a lot of soft tissue cleaning and suction, and I felt her do some scraping in each socket. And I was sent on my way. I had a 2 unit temporary partial ready to go, but was told to keep it out as much as possible for the next 48 hours to allow the clots to form.

The next part was quite remarkable - as I left the hospital, everything looked different to when I had arrived. Colors were more vibrant, and my eyesight was already clearer! When I got back to the car, I rolled up my sleeves because I was so warm, where I had felt cold and shivery on the way there. I checked the temperature, and it was 2 degrees colder than it had been earlier!

I had no pain whatsoever the rest of the day, so I think the registrar did a good job, if not as thorough as I wanted. The following day I woke up with what seemed like a horrible flu - my ears were blocked and I could hardly hear a thing, and my head felt completely blocked and stuffed up. So I hit the couch for the day! The next day I woke up expecting more of the same, but my 'flu' was gone! And the best was yet to come...

For several months prior to the extraction, my hearing had been deteriorating quite noticeably. The day after the extraction I literally could not believe my ears - my hearing had returned completely, and when I switched on my stereo at home, I was blown away by how bright and clear everything sounded! In fact, the sound was so bright it was almost painful!! Anyway, over the next couple of days my brain readjusted and everything just sounded normal again.

I've been seeing the holistic therapist weekly for bio-energy balancing sessions, and her first comment when she saw me 3 days after the extractions was "wow, your eyes look much clearer". She also said that the massive energy blockage around my head was almost completely gone. Over the past 4 weeks she has been helping me to slowly recover, and the current state of play is that my liver is now apparently working very hard to expel the accumulated toxins, and that there's also a bit of an energy blockage around my stomach. She has repeatedly told me that this will take time, and that I can expect to see earlier symptoms returning, but it is a sign of the healing process and my body gradually regaining strength. And sure enough, the abdominal pain that I had during all of last year, and that went away a few months ago, has now returned.

So, 4 weeks later, the other strange symptoms I had been experiencing (dizziness, brain fog, chronic fatigue, heart palpitations) have also started to improve, although not as much as I had hoped. Again, apparently I must be patient while the recovery happens.

Bryanna, I would very much appreciate your thoughts on my situation now. I'm pretty sure you'll be as annoyed as I still am that the oral surgeon handed the procedure off to one of his registrars after all his talk. Do you think I should contact him and ask him to do a follow-up procedure to clean any remaining infection from the sockets before they close up? I can't help thinking that I might have been making a better and faster recovery by now if that had been done properly first time.

Many thanks!

Hi dr teeth,

So very nice to hear from you!!

I'm glad to hear that you have made such progress in your physical health since having these teeth removed. It is true that the physical symptoms you were having may return, but hopefully they will not be too bad and then they will go away for good!

Along with the holistic therapist, what else are you doing to regain your health? Are you eating a clean nutritious diet and drinking plenty of water throughout the day?

I would not recommend that you have those surgical sites re opened and cleaned at this point.... unless you were having pain or swelling.

At this time there is really no way to know if that dentist was thorough with the surgery. I think she was completely out of line in the way that she treated you at the beginning of the appointment.

In a month or so an xray could be taken to see if it shows any signs of pathology but it will not show any bone growth as it is too soon for that to have happened.

Thanks so much for giving us the update! Keep in touch :)
Bryanna

Hi Bryanna

I'm trying! I can really feel a difference when I drink lots of filtered water.

Ok, thanks for that! No pain or swelling, so I'll leave well enough alone then.

I'm glad you agree. It's frustrating to be in a situation where I'm left wondering if I could have been feeling much better by now. But it is what it is...

Ok, I'll ask my dentist to take an xray at my next appointment in a couple of months time. That should hopefully give enough time for some bone growth.

Do you have any thoughts about bone grafts in order to minimize bone recession? Reason being that the extracted teeth are #24 and #25, and I'm concerned about their appearance in such a prominent position. The oral surgeon had mentioned the possibility of grafts at a later date, but that was during a conversation about possible implants, which he then recommended against.

After the extraction, I spoke to my family dentist about my options, and his recommendation was to be as non-invasive as possible. He suggested a chrome partial, but I said that I really don't like the feeling of the temporary partial I have, and I can't wait to be rid of it. I said that I want something that feels like real teeth again, so he suggested a 2 unit bridge which is secured to the adjoining teeth with wings and doesn't require the adjoining teeth to be filed down. I researched it, and I believe he was talking about a Maryland bridge.

Any thoughts on this as a solution for #24 and #25?

Thanks as always, Bryanna. Your advice is much appreciated!

Hi Bryanna

Just wondering if you have any thoughts regarding my last couple of questions in the above post (grafts/bridge)?

Many thanks!