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Nose Bleed after Root Canal and Scared to go Back

PlatypusBear

PlatypusBear

Junior member
Joined
Apr 8, 2022
Messages
8
Location
Texas
I thought I finally had found a dentist who I could trust. I had a few fillings and a crown done and she was excellent to me, my anxiety was way down. I was experiencing a lot of pain in the weeks with the temporary crown and she is apparently experienced with root canals and said she could do it in office. This allowed me to get in quickly and I wouldn't have to go to an endodontist, which worked for me because I'm more nervous with dentists I've never met.

So I had the root canal yesterday on a top molar, second from the back on the left and this morning blew my nose and there was some blood from the left side. It was pretty diluted and mostly just running quite a bit and now it has stopped. I don't have any sinus pain, last night felt a little stuffy on the left side but that's about it. Granted, I am also taking acetaminophen for the general soreness.

I started reading online about post-root canal complications and found sinus communication and sinus puncture as possibilities. The former being fine and should heal on its own and the latter being much worse, requiring sutures. Unanimously every dental source I find about punctures says it only happens if your dentist is really careless and advises you not to go back to them. However the subject of whether or not a little blood is a bad sign seems super unclear to me. Some sites don't even mention it, others mention is only mattering if in combination with severe pain, others say if there is any blood you must call.

So now I feel stuck between worrying something is really wrong and being afraid to call and then face a new dentist who I don't know (my dentist is closed today even if I wanted to call them I'd have to leave a message).

I'd like to know at what point I should be really truly concerned. How do I know if I need an emergency dentist over the weekend? Any guidance very very much appreciated. ❤️
 
I started reading online about post-root canal complications and found sinus communication and sinus puncture as possibilities. The former being fine and should heal on its own and the latter being much worse, requiring sutures.
Sounds like utter bollocks to me... can you tell me where you saw this? I'm puzzled as to how they could possibly differentiate the 2...

What can happen is that the very apex of the root can be extremely close to the sinus floor. It's vital doing root canal work to get the cleaning files right to the apex and very slightly beyond. In those circumstances it's entirely possible for the tip of the file to go into the sinus cavity. Because the cavity lining is highly vascularised, then it would probably bleed slightly. However thanks to all the blood cells present it also heals up very quickly.

Unanimously every dental source I find about punctures says it only happens if your dentist is really careless and advises you not to go back to them.
More bollocks. Could happen to anyone in the right (wrong) circumstances as above.

However the subject of whether or not a little blood is a bad sign seems super unclear to me. Some sites don't even mention it, others mention is only mattering if in combination with severe pain, others say if there is any blood you must call.
Not a bad sign at all. Just an unfortunate side effect.

I'd like to know at what point I should be really truly concerned. How do I know if I need an emergency dentist over the weekend? Any guidance very very much appreciated. ❤️
Forget about it. You don't need an emergency dentist unless you're in pain?
 
Thanks Gordon, this has really put my mind at ease.

Sounds like utter bollocks to me... can you tell me where you saw this? I'm puzzled as to how they could possibly differentiate the 2...
All the places I found with this information are just dental offices in the US

[admin note: links to dental office blogs removed in order to prevent broken links a few years down the line!]
 
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Thanks for posting those. Absolute rubbish the three of them. I assume written to try to generate some work for the practices.

I'm assuming you're still fine btw? I do hope so.
 
Thanks. It's awful how hard it is to find a trustworthy dentist here and it sucks not being able to trust the available resources, I appreciate all the tips and articles on this site in a big way.

I'm still fine, trying not to blow my nose and it seems to be getting better today. Still some tenderness and pain in the jaw and stuff, just glad the excruciating pain I had before is gone (and I can drink iced or hot beverages again). I appreciate your responses and kindness, thanks again!
 
No worries. Try an ice pack for the achey jaw, frozen veg is ideal. There's no reason not to blow your nose btw.
 
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