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Abcesses, root canals ans sinuses

B

Brandon

Junior member
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
2
I guess the short version of my question is: Can you get an abscess in a two-year-old root canal (or the gum above it?) The tooth is not crowned.

The story... When I was in high school I went to the doctor with intense pain in my left cheek and all the upper teeth on that side. He took x-rays and discovered that my cheekbone is overgrown. Because of that the sinus cavity there is deformed and the opening is too small. So whenever I have sinus inflammation that sinus hurts more than the others.

About two years ago I had a bad head cold, again with the worse pain in the left cheek. Thinking it was just the deformed sinus, I lived with it for weeks until one day I noticed that my second-last molar had turned gray. By the time I got to the dentist he said that the abscess was so bad it was almost an emergency. I had a root canal, which at first didn't get rid of all the infection. I had to get the gum cut and re-drained about a month later.

Now I have another bad head cold (or sinus infection - I haven't been to the doctor) and not only do I have the pain in my left cheek but the gum above the root canal is sore. It doesn't appear to be swollen but it's hard to tell... I have nothing to compare it to since the other side of my upper jaw is not quite the same shape.

Could it be another abscess? Also, I've heard that abscesses can cause sinus infections but can it also happen the other way around?

Edit: Sorry about the spelling... I should proof read the thread title not just the contents!
 
Last edited:
Hiya, yes it could be that the tooth got reinfected, in which case it may be possible to save it with a root canal retreatment. Usually, when you have a root canal treatment on a back tooth, it should always be crowned.

A root canal retreatment should be done by an endodontist (rather than a general dentist) to maximise the chances of success.
 
It was done by an endodontist. And I know it should have been crowned but it was all I could do to pay for the root canal in the first place. Ironically I just saved up money for the crown, but I can't afford another root canal too.

It's too bad I'm going to lose a tooth since I'm already the world's slowest eater :). Oh well.
 
Could of course just be sinuses as well - I was half-thinking that if the dentist didn't bother with a crown, they might have made a mess of the RCT as well... only way to find out is to have a dentist check it out!
 
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