C
cara56
Junior member
- Joined
- May 13, 2011
- Messages
- 4
Apicodectomy in Tooth # 30 (second molar,bottom, 3rd tooth from back)---really, really nervous!
First of all, it's in a tooth that's got a root canal (yrs old!) and a crown (also old.) I only knew there was "a problem" bc of a recurring pimple that started out as a red bump, turned into a whitehead that drained pus sometimes. Nothing hurts--not the tooth, not the jaw, just a little bit the gum is a tender. My family dentist took an x-ray, saw nothing wrong in it, put me on antibiotics, said if it didn't go away consult a surgeon. It didn't; I did consult. The oral surgeon, who I went to this morning, and who I've gone to before and has done a superb job always on me, my daughter, my son, and my friend--basically says that although he too can see nothing wrong on the xray (no infection; no crack) that doesn't always show, and he suspects that the root needs to be cleaned/tip removed, i.e., an apicodectomy. Still, I wasn't overly concerned UNTIL he said: "Because it's in that molar, I have to tell you that there's a slight chance, about 1 in 20,000, that there could be permanent nerve damage in the nerve in your jaw, resulting in temporary or permanent numbness, as if you've had a shot of novocaine." THAT freaked me out! He said the chance is small, there's a bigger chance of further re-infection (THAT doesn't make me feel better either!), and that only 1 patient of his, ever, has ever had that happen, wherein he 'nicked' her nerve. I began to then feel sick to my stomach. I asked him if that could happen with extraction. He said no. I asked him if that could happen with the subsequent implant. He said yes, same small risk, as they screw into the jaw/by that nerve. I went home and googled all morning long, and have read lots of stories from both patients AND of course from dentists. Now I don't know WHAT to do. I've scheduled a 2nd opinion from another oral surgeon who I DON'T know (which i suppose will also make me supernervous), but it's not for a few weeks, actually the very day before this surgery is supposed to take place. So tell me, any/everybody, your own stories with this sort of surgery. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I need to make an informed choice.
Hi all. I'm new to this forum and hoping you can unconfuse me not to mention calm my racing, terrified mind. The story: about a month ago I noticed a red bump on my gum. After 2 days, I went to the dentist who took an x-ray, said it didn't look suspicious, i.e, nothing showed that could be wrong, and gave me antibiotics, saying it 'might be an infection.' I should mention: the gum involved is sort of under a tooth that had a root canal and crown yrs ago. I have no pain in the tooth, and the gum is just a bit tender. Anyway.
A few days after that appointment/antibiotic started, the red spot became white and pus would ooze out now and then, mostly in the morning, a bit, and if I pushed on it. I finished the antibiotics, got a prescription for another round, and then called an oral surgeon for a next-step (what my dentist said to do).
The oral surgeon, today, looked at the x-ray, also saw nothing wrong in it---though he said some things don't show on an x-ray--from what i remember, he said it's a fistula draining, that there could be an infection, which could lead to bone loss, there could be a crack down in there (though my own dentist thought not, since the tooth was not at all shaky or unstable, and no pain whatsoever)--and then recommended the apicoetcomy, which I'm probably spelling wrong since it's red-underlined--and which I'd never heard of before.
Here's the thing that caught my attention and made me horribly upset and nervous. The possibility, though remote (1 in 20,000, according to the OS--and only 1 person, he's said, has ever had that happen in his practice, when he 'nicked her nerve) of nerve damage to the nerve in the jaw, since it's so close to the molar. Which would feel, he said, like you're permanently shot with Novocaine. Numb.
Then I began reading about this apico procedure, and the possible pain (worse than a root canal?) involved. Then I made an apnt with a 2nd oral surgeon, just to get a 2nd opinion. Which I don't know if it'll help, since they'll probably say the same thing. And NOW I'm wondering if there's anything wrong at all, since nobody so far seems to see anything on the x-ray. An aside: this gum-boil thing happened after I had an extremely stressful two weeks, after which I was sick with a cold/sinus/minor flu-type thing. AND, it emerged the day after I ate some chicken breasts with little bones. After which, like every night, I flossed my teeth thoroughly. BUT...when it, the gum-boil-pimple thing, emerged, I felt that something was stuck between my teeth, in my gums. I originally thought it was a small piece of the chicken's bone (maybe I should be a vegetarian???), but both dentists stuck their instruments in there and didn't find anything. Could the pus-draining gum boil be related to the cold, sinus, stress, or chicken-bone? Or the vigorous flossing?
Questions: What should I do? Apico? Extraction? (though the OS says the even implant insertion can lead to this nerve damage issue). Extraction with no implant? Leave it alone? Help!
First of all, it's in a tooth that's got a root canal (yrs old!) and a crown (also old.) I only knew there was "a problem" bc of a recurring pimple that started out as a red bump, turned into a whitehead that drained pus sometimes. Nothing hurts--not the tooth, not the jaw, just a little bit the gum is a tender. My family dentist took an x-ray, saw nothing wrong in it, put me on antibiotics, said if it didn't go away consult a surgeon. It didn't; I did consult. The oral surgeon, who I went to this morning, and who I've gone to before and has done a superb job always on me, my daughter, my son, and my friend--basically says that although he too can see nothing wrong on the xray (no infection; no crack) that doesn't always show, and he suspects that the root needs to be cleaned/tip removed, i.e., an apicodectomy. Still, I wasn't overly concerned UNTIL he said: "Because it's in that molar, I have to tell you that there's a slight chance, about 1 in 20,000, that there could be permanent nerve damage in the nerve in your jaw, resulting in temporary or permanent numbness, as if you've had a shot of novocaine." THAT freaked me out! He said the chance is small, there's a bigger chance of further re-infection (THAT doesn't make me feel better either!), and that only 1 patient of his, ever, has ever had that happen, wherein he 'nicked' her nerve. I began to then feel sick to my stomach. I asked him if that could happen with extraction. He said no. I asked him if that could happen with the subsequent implant. He said yes, same small risk, as they screw into the jaw/by that nerve. I went home and googled all morning long, and have read lots of stories from both patients AND of course from dentists. Now I don't know WHAT to do. I've scheduled a 2nd opinion from another oral surgeon who I DON'T know (which i suppose will also make me supernervous), but it's not for a few weeks, actually the very day before this surgery is supposed to take place. So tell me, any/everybody, your own stories with this sort of surgery. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I need to make an informed choice.
Hi all. I'm new to this forum and hoping you can unconfuse me not to mention calm my racing, terrified mind. The story: about a month ago I noticed a red bump on my gum. After 2 days, I went to the dentist who took an x-ray, said it didn't look suspicious, i.e, nothing showed that could be wrong, and gave me antibiotics, saying it 'might be an infection.' I should mention: the gum involved is sort of under a tooth that had a root canal and crown yrs ago. I have no pain in the tooth, and the gum is just a bit tender. Anyway.
A few days after that appointment/antibiotic started, the red spot became white and pus would ooze out now and then, mostly in the morning, a bit, and if I pushed on it. I finished the antibiotics, got a prescription for another round, and then called an oral surgeon for a next-step (what my dentist said to do).
The oral surgeon, today, looked at the x-ray, also saw nothing wrong in it---though he said some things don't show on an x-ray--from what i remember, he said it's a fistula draining, that there could be an infection, which could lead to bone loss, there could be a crack down in there (though my own dentist thought not, since the tooth was not at all shaky or unstable, and no pain whatsoever)--and then recommended the apicoetcomy, which I'm probably spelling wrong since it's red-underlined--and which I'd never heard of before.
Here's the thing that caught my attention and made me horribly upset and nervous. The possibility, though remote (1 in 20,000, according to the OS--and only 1 person, he's said, has ever had that happen in his practice, when he 'nicked her nerve) of nerve damage to the nerve in the jaw, since it's so close to the molar. Which would feel, he said, like you're permanently shot with Novocaine. Numb.
Then I began reading about this apico procedure, and the possible pain (worse than a root canal?) involved. Then I made an apnt with a 2nd oral surgeon, just to get a 2nd opinion. Which I don't know if it'll help, since they'll probably say the same thing. And NOW I'm wondering if there's anything wrong at all, since nobody so far seems to see anything on the x-ray. An aside: this gum-boil thing happened after I had an extremely stressful two weeks, after which I was sick with a cold/sinus/minor flu-type thing. AND, it emerged the day after I ate some chicken breasts with little bones. After which, like every night, I flossed my teeth thoroughly. BUT...when it, the gum-boil-pimple thing, emerged, I felt that something was stuck between my teeth, in my gums. I originally thought it was a small piece of the chicken's bone (maybe I should be a vegetarian???), but both dentists stuck their instruments in there and didn't find anything. Could the pus-draining gum boil be related to the cold, sinus, stress, or chicken-bone? Or the vigorous flossing?
Questions: What should I do? Apico? Extraction? (though the OS says the even implant insertion can lead to this nerve damage issue). Extraction with no implant? Leave it alone? Help!
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