Ongoing tooth saga!

[psyche-]

Hi again everyone, so I got back from the dentist! In my last thread, I wrote about getting my dental records off them so see if I had this infection back then that I've been having trouble with. I finally got my xrays and dental records, filled with lies! There were xrays missing, too. So I had to get an emergency appt. with another dentist at my new practice, he took one look at me and said I had an infection in my front tooth and it was dead. I waited another two weeks for my new regular dentist to come back from his holiday and he saw me today. He had seen the notes from my old dentist and said that and I quote 'I don't know what they took these xrays with, but I can't see any of your roots in them.' He showed me the xray the other dentist at his practice took, and you could see everything! He also said my front tooth root was very unusually shaped, that he had never seen one like that before (I felt kinda special, haha)

He then started the root canal, and put a sedative thing into it and a temp filling. He said my tooth was very slightly mobile, but he said that an infection causes this, once they remove the infection it'll tighten back up. Is that okay? I've been so terrified of losing all my teeth after my old dentist said they were all mobile! Also, he said it was likely that this tooth had been dead a long time, because when he opened it up, there was no blood, it was totally dry inside (?)

So anyway, after months of worrying about all sorts of what was wrong with me causing this swelling, it turns out it was my tooth Thanks everyone for all your support and answering all my questions, it's been much appreciated

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,

sounds like your new dentist is very professional and that you are in good hands.
The ongoing infection caused the tissue in the canal in the root (blood vessels and nerve supply) to die and become necrotic, thus being a source of food for bacteria which proliferate there. The body reacts to it with an inflammatory reaction, causing a slow depredation and absorption of the tissues that hold the tooth to the jaw (hence the mobility). Once the source of the infection is eliminated (by a root canal treatment) the body will rebuild those tissues.

 

[psyche-]

Hi,

sounds like your new dentist is very professional and that you are in good hands.
The ongoing infection caused the tissue in the canal in the root (blood vessels and nerve supply) to die and become necrotic, thus being a source of food for bacteria which proliferate there. The body reacts to it with an inflammatory reaction, causing a slow depredation and absorption of the tissues that hold the tooth to the jaw (hence the mobility). Once the source of the infection is eliminated (by a root canal treatment) the body will rebuild those tissues.

Hi Dr. Daniel, thank you for that info. Yesterday the dentist opened up my tooth and put a sedative in it and a temp filling, but today I've got this awful taste in my mouth, very bitter. Is this normal?

 

[Dr. Daniel]

could be the temporary filling

 

[psyche-]

could be the temporary filling

Well, I don't have the taste all the time now, so I guess that's good. Do you know if it's possible for the infection to be draining out with the temp filling in?

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Well, I don't have the taste all the time now, so I guess that's good. Do you know if it's possible for the infection to be draining out with the temp filling in?

That's not possible (unless the dentist makes on purpose such an opening in the filling).
The inflammation (what we call granulation tissue) has a metallic taste. So unless you have a metallic taste in your mouth, my guess is that it is the temporary filling.