burning gums and facial pain / root canal

[saralou35]

problems after fillings/root canal

Hi
My problems started about 5 months ago when i got 2 mercury fillings replaced with composites. They all seemed to hurt and i wondered if i was reacting to the composite. so i went to a different dentist she also did another filling that i needed but didn't trust the original dentist as i felt she was incomptent. since then i have had no end of tooth troubles. One of the teeth done by the original dentist died and abcessed.. although new dentist couldn't understand why as filling was not near nerve. Also another of the fillings seems to hurt when i chew on it but i can't tell if it's def that tooth or one next to it (with no filling).
Anyway the tooth that died has been in the process of having a root canal for the last 5 weeks and denist has been cleaning it out weekly and then left it for 3 weeks with medication in. Last thursday (4days ago) she said she was happy that the lump i had in my gum was going down..i think it's the bone thats deformed as it is very hard high up where gum meets cheek. so she permenantly filled up root canal. However the lump has swollen slightly again (it seems to do this after everytime she recleans it) and i'm worried that she might have missed a canal. It's a first molar on left and she said it had 3 roots. she also said my roots are very narrow/fine and she would expect to see roots that narrow in a 60yr old!! (i'm 36 by the way!) so i don't know why that would be or if it would affect the root canals outcome.
anyway any info or advise would be greatly appreciated. I'm not in really bad pain just aware of it all the time and also worried about the lump. how long does it normally take to settle??
thanks
Saralou

 

[brit]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

Hi
My problems started about 5 months ago when i got 2 mercury fillings replaced with composites. They all seemed to hurt and i wondered if i was reacting to the composite. so i went to a different dentist she also did another filling that i needed but didn't trust the original dentist as i felt she was incomptent. since then i have had no end of tooth troubles. One of the teeth done by the original dentist died and abcessed.. although new dentist couldn't understand why as filling was not near nerve. Also another of the fillings seems to hurt when i chew on it but i can't tell if it's def that tooth or one next to it (with no filling).
Anyway the tooth that died has been in the process of having a root canal for the last 5 weeks and denist has been cleaning it out weekly and then left it for 3 weeks with medication in. Last thursday (4days ago) she said she was happy that the lump i had in my gum was going down..i think it's the bone thats deformed as it is very hard high up where gum meets cheek. so she permenantly filled up root canal. However the lump has swollen slightly again (it seems to do this after everytime she recleans it) and i'm worried that she might have missed a canal. It's a first molar on left and she said it had 3 roots. she also said my roots are very narrow/fine and she would expect to see roots that narrow in a 60yr old!! (i'm 36 by the way!) so i don't know why that would be or if it would affect the root canals outcome.
anyway any info or advise would be greatly appreciated. I'm not in really bad pain just aware of it all the time and also worried about the lump. how long does it normally take to settle??
thanks
Saralou

I'm not a dentist but would say there's still a good chance it will settle down. If it doesn't, given that she has had multiple attempts and has pronounced your canals difficult, it would probably be wise to ask for a referral to an endodontist (root canal specialist) in order to allow you to keep your tooth long-term. They have specialised equipment and microscopes which allow them to more easily track canals etc.
I also wouldn't look to crown it until it has definitely settled down (if that was in the plan).

Sorry to hear of your difficulties with the fillings - it's easy to be wise after the event but there's a reason 'ethical dentists' don't change amalgam fillings for composite without good reason - namely the risk that the change will be the 'final insult' to the tooth's nerve.
Of course it's always a judgement call and if the filling was leaky or there was some other compelling reason - it's a risk you have to take.
I've had 4 old amalgams changed in the last few years: one was leaky and sensitive to sweet and lasted 5 years and has recently resulted in an rct lol; 2 were found to have decay underneath on x-ray and were replaced with amalgam as the 'best option' as close to the nerve, one had strange sensations in it and was replaced with composite. Despite this there's still plenty of silver in my mouth!
Hope your tooth settles down soon

 

[saralou35]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

hi brit
thanks for reply
the 2 mercury fillings were replaced as there was some decay seen on xray and i was having sensitivity in both teeth with sweet food. Luckily one of the two seems to have settled (this was done by the new denstist) she put a sedative layer in it as she knew how much trouble i've been having with other two. Luckily this one has settled (even thou it took about 3 months).
i'll leave the root canalled tooth a while longer as it was quite a nasty infection that went on a while as no-one thought the tooth was dead? i haven't taken any oral antibiotics as dentist said i don't need them but i am diabetic so maybe it's taking longer to heal in me??
saralou

 

[brit]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

You might be able to get antibiotics from your GP if you felt you'd benefit from them.

 

[saralou35]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

Lump seems to be going down slightly today.It is 5 days post finished root canal so i'm hoping it will settle down. The only thing i'm now worried about is there does still seem to be some heat sensitivity around that side of my mouth both top and bottom so i hope that she got all the nerve out and no other teeth are involved. I have been flossing/brushing a bit more than usual since all this happened so i'm hoping it's just a sensitivity issue?

 

[saralou35]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

It's not a week since the dentist finished the root canal and i still have a hard lump on my gum. It's about the size of a small pea but kinda smoother. She did say that it might take months for the bone around the tooth to heal but that i might always have a lump there now?? does this seem right? i thought lumps were a sign that infection still presesnt..this saga in this tooth has been going on for months now and it's starting to get me down. It's not really painful but am aware of it and feel weird pains/numbness up to my nose sometimes. don't know whether to give it longer, see another dentist (as mine seems to treat/talk to me like i'm nuts!) or just have it out as no one really knows how it died so am wondering if it's cracked somewhere although no-one has seens cracks on xray or by eye?
any ideas?
btw im diabetic type 1 so could it be maybe i just take longer to heal?

 

[Gordon]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

Your diabetes will increase healing time. Why don't you give it a bit longer and see what happens?

 

[saralou35]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

Thanks gordon
will give it a few more weeks to see..i'm off on hols next week so maybe the sunshine will help me heal i've got some antibiotics to take with me in case i have a problem while away.
thanks for advise

 

[saralou35]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

after reading about root canals it seems that the dentist normally xrays them on finishing them, however, mine didn't. the only time they were xrayed was when she cleaned them on visit one and put these long metal things in them with beads around the top???
should she have xrayed it on finishing??

 

[brit]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

Mine did to show me how wonderfully he had filled up the canals lol! Lack of x-ray could be a cause for concern given your on-going problem.

Not sure I got an x-ray years ago with my first root canal in UK though. Even many years later although it doesn't give me pain, it feels odd from time to time.

Latest one (that I did get x-ray for) has felt completely normal since final appt.
Makes you wonder.

 

[saralou35]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

yeah it does make u wonder eh!! my dentist seems very adverse to doing x-rays for some reason!! i'm going back in 3 weeks for a scale and polish with the hygenist so might ask her opinion then. if it's still playing up at that point i think i'll ask for referrel to endodontist for him to have a look.

 

[brit]

Re: problems after fillings/root canal

yeah it does make u wonder eh!! my dentist seems very adverse to doing x-rays for some reason!! i'm going back in 3 weeks for a scale and polish with the hygenist so might ask her opinion then. if it's still playing up at that point i think i'll ask for referrel to endodontist for him to have a look.

Sounds like a good plan.

 

[saralou35]

Hi
I recently posted about my root canal on my upper left first molar. It was finished about 12days ago after the dentist periodically cleaning it out for a few weeks and leaving medication in it.
I have a hard lump on the gum above the tooth that seems to be getting smaller (she said it was deformed bone and would take a while to go- maybe even months??) It has gone down considerably since root canal but not totally. Is now about size of very small dried pea/lentil now

anyway i was just wondering if it is normal to feel sensitivity to heat in this lump? it's not in the tooth but in the gum area where lump is. I'm also experiancing a burning in my gums on that side above the 2nd molar and wisdom tooth? I have had quite a few anaesthetic injections there over the course of the last few months with doing the original filling then a sedative one etc so wondering if this can cause a burning sensation.

I also have a tingly/crawling feeling up my face to the side of my nose and was wondering if this can be a neuralgia type thing or if the tooth is still possibly infected. i have mentioned all this to my dentist but she just calls me neurotic or says there is slight gum recession etc etc and pars me off...
any advice??
ta Saralou