• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

My strange and unusual dental journey (root canal, wisdom tooth, filling and more)

Mountain mama,

I'm really glad the extraction went easy for you and really hoping a bit smoother sailing here for you in the very near future!! :)
 
krlovesherkids777 said:
Mountain mama,

I'm really glad the extraction went easy for you and really hoping a bit smoother sailing here for you in the very near future!! :)
Click to expand...

Thank you! Me too! I had nitrous again for this extraction and it helped again. I felt totally in control but relaxed. I actually had to ask them to turn it up a bit because I was still super tense after the shots. Then they turned it back down after I relaxed. I know you are considering it so I wanted to share my experience. I was answering their questions throughout the procedure and listening to them talk. The oral surgeon was talking to me and I was able to respond.
 
Sounds like the nitrious helps a bit. and thank you for sharing that. Its a main concern that one would be in control or just not be so "out of it". I have a few years of dental work ahead of me so probably plenty of opportunities to try it out. :). I wish I could somehow hit the lottery and just get it all done in a short period,, but financially have to spread it out a bit ..
 
krlovesherkids777 said:
Sounds like the nitrious helps a bit. and thank you for sharing that. Its a main concern that one would be in control or just not be so "out of it". I have a few years of dental work ahead of me so probably plenty of opportunities to try it out. :). I wish I could somehow hit the lottery and just get it all done in a short period,, but financially have to spread it out a bit ..
Click to expand...

Oh man, I understand that. If I could spread out mine,.I would. It has put us in major debt. I just can't put off getting a tooth pulled or root canal when there is an abscess or it is in a lot of pain. I have already lost almost 6 months of my life now to mouth pain, and being unable to travel, go out to eat, etc
 
I am now a little over 3 weeks past my lower 2nd molar extraction, and 5 days past my upper 2nd molar extraction. It has been a little over 2 weeks past my root canal on my front tooth.

The lower extraction site is healing well. It is annoyingly getting food stuck in it all the time. I guess I thought that with bone grafting and stitches the hole wouldn't be as big/deep. I don't know why I thought that, as I remember my lower wisdom teeth having huge holes after the stitches dissolved.

My upper extraction site is at that stage where it doesn't really "hurt" so much as irritate. The stitches are irritating my skin and there are a few canker sores that developed where my gums got scratched a little. The amazing thing is that I can tell a huge difference with the tooth out. There was a constant achiness that I didn't even realize was there until it is gone. So that is a relief. The oral surgeon went ahead and did bone grafting with that one, too, because I had the apico and there was quite a bit of bone gone. That way if I ever decide to get an implant later on, it will make it easier.

The front tooth is still troubling me. It hurts off and on, and has a weird sensation, like the actual tooth hurts, even though that isn't possible. The gums behind the tooth are still sore, and if I run my tongue along the bottom of my tooth, it hurts. So it isn't looking good for success. The possibility of my dentist's theory of me being allergic to something in the root canal may be true.
 
I have been back to the oral surgeon for my follow up on the upper extracted molar. Right now, both molar extractions are healing nicely. The upper extraction was definitely a much easier recovery. Eating has been hard. This week, the oral surgeon told me I could start chewing as much as I could tolerate on the lower extraction side. It is still tender but I can finally eat more than soup!

My front tooth is still sore to the touch. I cannot bite with it and it hurts when my lip presses against it. I am pretty sure the root canal is failing. It has been 6 weeks and the gums behind the tooth are stil sore and the tooth aches constantly.
 
Mountainmama

I am so sorry you are still having pain with the front root canal. :(..That is hard! I'm glad that the extraction healings are going well though .. I hope for a turn of events and some healing somehow for that front tooth area!
 
krlovesherkids777 said:
Mountainmama

I am so sorry you are still having pain with the front root canal. :(..That is hard! I'm glad that the extraction healings are going well though .. I hope for a turn of events and some healing somehow for that front tooth area!
Click to expand...

I am pretty upset about the front tooth. I don't want to get it extracted, as even going for a short time without a front tooth would be quite traumatic. The dentist and oral surgeon said they would recommend an apicoectomy first, but if I truly am allergic to something in the root canal, I don't want to go through an apico again. It was quite the recovery, and it didn't work on my molar. I also am so very tired of surgeries and just want it fixed.
 
I had my 6 week follow up on the front tooth. It is still super sensitive to pressure...the dentist couldn't even touch it without pain. She said it was very unusual, but that she still wanted to wait as it could be ligament pain.

She also wants me to wear a night guard again, in case I am pushing against it at night with my bottom teeth or tongue
 
I went back to the dentist today, because the lateral incisor next to the front tooth that had the root canal hurts. There is no abscess, but the tooth also has a wide nerve canal, just like the front tooth. The dentist said it was probably involved with the childhood trauma that killed the nerve in my front tooth. The nerve is acting up now, but not abscessed. The nerve is not dead in this tooth, but could be on its way out. The ache is similar to the one I had in my lower molar before the nerve went bad in that one.

I don't know how much more of this I can take. The front tooth still hurts and is not healing, so my body is probably rejecting that root canal. I can't afford to keep losing teeth, especially ones that need implants.

My gut is telling me this isn't going to end well.
 
I just can't seem to catch a break with my teeth. The past few days my front tooth has started hurting again, and feels like a lot of pressure behind it. Most of the pain is in the roof of my mouth, right behind the front tooth. Last week, the dentist told me that I had a lot of cloudiness in my sinus cavity, which could be causing pain, although I didn't feel like I was congested at all.
Today, it feels like a rock is lodged between my front teeth and my nose. I can't even explain the pain, other than intense pressurr right behind my nose, just above the root canal. There is also pain and pressure behind the tooth, in the palate, all the way to the back of my mouth. I would attribute it to sinus, except I took a sudafed decongestant and it didn't get rid of the feeling of something lodged in there. It is the weirdest feeling, but my nose hurt in that exact spot when I first had the abscess. I am going back to the dentist tomorrow at noon. I am sure she is so tired of meat this point.
 
I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. I hope you get answers tomorrow. Keep us posted! I’m pretty sure my dentist just rolls his eyes when he sees me on the appointment list these days. But I would give anything to not be in this drama of pain and multiple teeth issues and have life go back to normal - I am sure you feel the same. Hang in there!
 
Kns said:
I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. I hope you get answers tomorrow. Keep us posted! I’m pretty sure my dentist just rolls his eyes when he sees me on the appointment list these days. But I would give anything to not be in this drama of pain and multiple teeth issues and have life go back to normal - I am sure you feel the same. Hang in there!
Click to expand...

Thanks. It is so frustrating. I know from the dentist's point of view, I look like a hypochondriac since the x rays show nothing wrong at the last few visits. I don't exactly like going to the dentist anyway, and spend days trying to decide if I should call or wait it out. I am so sick of my mouth hurting, but this issue with not being able to speak clearly is really affecting my life. My job involves speaking. It must be fixed.
 
I am back from the dentist. She did not take an x ray, as she poked around and said there was no sign of an abscess. She did say that she believes I may have trigeminal neuralgia, as many of my "pain points" are nowhere near the root canal tooth and are on the trigeminal nerve pathway. She said the pain behind my nose was too high for where an abscess would be, and it did not hurt terribly when she pressed where the abscess would be located.
However, she wants to rule out residual infection first, with another round of antibiotics. If that doesn't work, then I will go to the endodontist for a cone beam scan, to rule out any issues that an x ray didn't show.
Then, if nothing shows, she will refer me to a nerve specialist.

I am not having typical neuralgia symptoms, though, other than the pain points. I do not have a trigger...it seems random. Plus the pain is not like an electric shock, like I have read. It is more like intense pressure.

However, it was good to hear my tooth is still healing, albeit slowly. There is still pain when pressure is applied, but less. She tapped on it and I didn't jump out of the chair. She even tested for mobility, and there was none.

She told me not to apologize for coming in so often and not to feel like I was a hypochondriac, which made me feel better. The bad news is that she told me she is leaving the practice at the end of December! She is starting her own practice, with her husband. She can't say where, since she is under contract (no poaching clients), but she did say it is not local.
 
Mountain mama..

Wow.. bittersweet. sounds like your dentist is really doing alot of validating and investigating things and is really caring.. but huge bummer on her leaving end of December.. I do know the feeling quite well. Working for a drs office I know about the non compete clause a little ,and we can tract them down as long as they didn't approach us to switch over. they can still take us on. From all I know.. They just can't initiate it .. wonder how far she will be? either way I hope she passes you onto someone just as curious and competant or you find someone you can trust and will give you some answers...
 
krlovesherkids777 said:
Mountain mama..

Wow.. bittersweet. sounds like your dentist is really doing alot of validating and investigating things and is really caring.. but huge bummer on her leaving end of December.. I do know the feeling quite well. Working for a drs office I know about the non compete clause a little ,and we can tract them down as long as they didn't approach us to switch over. they can still take us on. From all I know.. They just can't initiate it .. wonder how far she will be? either way I hope she passes you onto someone just as curious and competant or you find someone you can trust and will give you some answers...
Click to expand...

I think she lives about a half hour away. I am hoping she won't have her practice any further.
She is leaving my records with her colleague here in town. He has a good reputation and I have seen him a few times. She said she has discussed my case with him, so he is aware. He doesn't have the same bedside manner she does, but he is also conservative in treatment, which I appreciate.
 
Yikes this is getting long, so kudos to those of you still reading this.

I was given antibiotics a few weeks ago, and they took away 90 percent of the pain I was having. I could talk again! I felt better than I had in months!

The pain is starting to come back. I am also getting another sinus infection on the side where the root canal is. I can't help but wonder if the sinus issue is caused by the tooth, as the pain seems to be radiating from a point of pressure directly above the root canal tooth, and behind tgat nostril. I have no fever but swollen glands and a sore throat. This same thing happened when I had the abscess.

I called and got a referral for the endodontist. I go in on January 10. I hope she can provide some answers.
 
Bad news is that I found out that my dentist's new practice will be over an hour away. I can't continue with her.
 
I go to the endodontist tomorrow and I have mixed feelings. I am hopeful that she can figure out why my front tooth still hurts, but I am fearful that there will be a lot of work involved (more expenses too)

I am also worried about another molar, rhis time a lower first molar. It has a large, deep filling that is at least 15 years old. It has started being super sensitive to heat and cold, and aching occasionally. Looking at it closely, it appears to be cracked, so I am scared it will need extraction. I am not ready for another one, nor can I afford another implant.
 
When I started thus journal, I never expected it to be so long. Last year at this time, I would have never imagined the way my life would change.

I am now going to have my second apicoectomy. The endodontist said I need it on the front tooth. I don't know why root canals do not seem to work for me. It scares me, because just as I thought the end was in sight, I now have two first molars (upper and lower) on the left side aching and heat and sold sensitive. I do not want to go through this nightmare again. They both have spontaneous pain. If I lose them, I will have no molars on the left side, other than one 2nd molar, which I am sure will cone out if the others do. I have no hope for root canals since they don't seem to work for me, and I am pretty sure the lower first molar is cracked. It has a deep filling and I can see a crack on the side closest to the 2nd molar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top