Pain 6 weeks after dental extraction
 

Hello everyone. I am new here but wanted to post a question. I had a dental infection 10 weeks ago. I didn't know it. I had a filling on tooth #4 3 months ago. The sensitivity never went away after and the dentist told me not to worry about it. Then 10 weeks ago I found a painful lump (gum boil/abscess) in my gum that shot pain to the root tip. I was given 16 days of 500 mg keflex 4x per day.

Fast forward. An attempted root canal 6 weeks ago turned into a broken tool in my root. Which turned into an extraction. I had very firm thick roots. The dentist said it was the toughest extraction he has ever done out of 6000. Almost the whole tooth came out with a crunch though they did have to dig out one root tip. The dentist said to get ready for pain. And pain it was. For two weeks excruciating pain. Checked multiple times, no infection was visible. It seemed to be healing normally.

4 weeks post extraction and it was still hurting. Very painful to push in the gums toward the front of my mouth in my gun line. Went back to the dentist. He said we was almost positive my buccal bone was fractured when the tooth came out because of how it came out. He said it could hurt for 6 to 8 weeks. No imaging was performed.

Now 6 weeks post op and it is still very painful to push on though fine otherwise. The actual extraction site doesn't hurt. When I push on the front of the gum line where the tooth extracted it is very sensitive and painful. I was told "just don't push on it." Thoughts? Should I get a second opinion? Has anyone heard of this? I had a CBC done and white blood cells were normal. I still have a swollen lymph node in my neck on the opposite side of the tooth that was extracted. It is still large and tender (and has been for 2 months).

follow up
 

So I went to a different dentist today and had it checked out. He did a 360 degree xray and found that a large root tip had been left behind in one of my canals. He is positive that is the source of pain and wants to remove it from the front of the gum in two weeks. Does anyone have experience with this procedure?

I'm not sure if anyone is looking at these posts, but here we go.

As you see from previous posts, have been dealing with issues for 3 months now. I had a root tip extraction 4 weeks ago. Now, I am STILL having pain though there is not root left. The inferior gum just posterior to my extraction site has very sharp pain, even when I barely touch it. No pain as long as I do not touch it there. The new dentist is still not concerned but it seems like a long time. I'm not sure if anyone reads this, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

I wish I had some information, knowledge, anything to help or comfort you. I read your posts and hold you in my thoughts.

That's not much help, is it?

That is helpful. Thanks so much. I appreciate it!

Update?
 

Is there an update? I’m dealing with a similar issue now. I’m 6 weeks out from extraction and have the exact same symptoms you described. I’ve never dealt with anything so depressing before. It seems like it’s never going to get better!

Me too - but be patient.....
 

Hi Coldlanta
I also have been going through the same thing.
Now 9 weeks out and still some discomfort. But it is slowly improving. As long as you don’t have an infection and you are keeping the area clean (rinse with salt water a couple of times a day) you will heal. For some of us, healing just takes longer.
The crazy thing for me is that 2 weeks before this extraction (#4 on top), I had another extraction on bottom because a bridge I had 10 years ago had failed and had decay on one of the anchor teeth. So I had that tooth extracted.
That extraction was easy breezy. No pain at all !!!!
And healed completely within a week. We all expected the same when I had to extract the top tooth. But no such luck.
I had a dry socket and it was hell for 6 weeks.
I’ve been drinking a lot of water - I really believe staying hydrated helps. And I eat mostly soft food (no smoking please)
I still have throbbing in that area when I walk around, but it is improving slowly.
Stay positive, meditate, listen to classical music & you’ll get through it.

I am so sorry you are dealing with this. I am also having dental issues my self which have me mentally over the edge. It really does make it difficult. Just hang in there I am sure it will turn out ok.

Hi. So update. It has been almost a year since all of this began. The deep pain went away, but the gums in the area are still sensitive to touch or sharp pressure (such as chips). It never recovered completely. The dentist believes it is likely scar tissue or something with the gums as the x rays are normal and there is no sign of infection. Hope that helps! I'm sorry you are going through this!