WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF RCT being a success

[carole]

I have had a rct done on a back tooth on the bottom, in one treatment before it had thawed out properly it hurt, which I expected, later that night after thaw, still painful still expected.
The day after it got worse and swelling appeared, as I got to the evening it was really painful, throbbing and warm salt water rinses made it worse and my mouth was on fire.
I got antibiotics the next day, I have been on these for 3 nearly 4 days now (5 day course) and all my other teeth are sensitive and hurting now. The swelling has gone down a lot and a lot of the pain has gone. My cheeks feel swollen and my gums on the side of the infection both top and bottom are very sore. I have a very painful bridge at the moment, an old one, on the same side as the infection but on the top. My teeth feel tight as if they are pushed together. My tongue is also very sore down one side.

What are the chances that this rct will be successful, I am a nhs patient so is it likely I will lose the rct tooth, and could it be possible that my bridge needs looking at.
I had an untreated abscess for 20 months before having treatment in Sept last year, a removed tooth and a rct on the abscessed tooth cleared that up. The problem is at the opposite side of my mouth.
Could the fact that I had the other abscess for so long be causing the problems I have now. I read somewhere that if a dental abscess is left untreated, you can get an abscess appear somewhere else in the body.

 

[letsconnect]

I'm not a dentist but I think a small percentage of root canal treatments can result in a flare up that's more than just tenderness (like the pain and swelling you were experiencing). The underlying reasons are explained in the FAQ section of our root canal page: https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/faq/root-canal/ but unfortunately you've got it worse than most. This doesn't mean that the treatment has failed. Antibiotics are the correct treatment at this stage.

I think it is a good sign that the practice manager who had a look at the x-rays thought the root canal treatment looked very good. I don't think he would have been saying that if it had looked like a shoddy job.

Hopefully things will settle down permanently!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you, anyway

I don't know about the bridge, I think it would be very hard to speculate about that one over the internet.

The other abscess you had in the past wouldn't be causing the problems you have now. It is not true that you can get an abscess somewhere else in the body from that.

 

[carole]

Thank you I knew to expect a bit of dis-comfort but this has been really bad, I was glad the top dentist I saw said it was a very good job and I was relieved.
At first it started to feel better but now it feels like things are getting worse. I don't usually read things or want to know about what can happen or go wrong because everything and everybody is different, but if there is a 1% chance of things happening I always seem to be the one.
I thought I had read about the abscess popping up somewhere else on the nhs website and I thought they would be trust worthy, I am finding out through other things as well maybe they not so much. Or it could just be me reading and getting the wrong end of the stick.

I see my dentist next week so I suppose I will find out then what state my mouth is in. I just felt a bit worried and down about the state of my mouth, because there isn't anything I can or could have done to stop these things happening. I attend a dentist every 6 months always have done except for a 5 year miss years ago. I have always brushed and looked after my teeth. So I am more fed up with the fact that even when you force yourself to go to the dentist and do everything you are supposed to do, these things still happen, and I don't understand why.

Thank you letsconnect

 

[drhirst]

Hi Carole,

One does occasionally read suggestions that abscesses in the mouth can eventually cause abscesses in the brain which would have serious consequences. However, the chances of this happening are extremely remote.... even less that the dreaded 1% category that you always fall into! So relax this isn't happening to you.

Letsconnect's assessment of the the situation is spot on as usual. So we will have to keep our fingers crossed that the root canal settles down.

It is depressing when one dental problem follows on from another but hopefully this bad period will pass.

Best wishes

Lincoln

 

[letsconnect]

One does occasionally read suggestions that abscesses in the mouth can eventually cause abscesses in the brain which would have serious consequences. However, the chances of this happening are extremely remote....

Ah that explains the info you read on the NHS site - I thought you meant to ask whether the abscess on one side of the mouth could have caused the one on the other side . Luckily we've got Lincoln here who immediately got what you meant !

Yeah I think one has to be very careful when trying to interpret what's written on the internet - a lot of the time, it's not entirely clear what the authors are trying to say and it can be all too easy to assume the worst (like when I had the winter vomiting bug and thought it might be all sorts of exotic and invariably fatal diseases after consulting Dr. Google ...)

 

[carole]

Thank you for your reply, I am relieved to hear this, this is what I had seen about the abscess turning up somewhere else, I was slightly worried about this, but I just thought how the heck could I be having so much trouble with my mouth when I have been receiving treatment from my dentist.
Maybe just a run of bad luck. I suppose when all this work is complete, I must be done for a good few years, except for the 6 monthly check up. So I think I will concentrate on this.
I also think antibiotics can make you feel down as well, I am sick of them now I've had about 8 or 9 courses now since Sept 2011. They do make me feel a bit off it.

Letsconnect - You were right I did also wonder if the infection was having a tour around my mouth causing all these problems, so between you both I have my answer thank you.

 

[Carys]

I'm sorry Carole, I have nothing medically helpful to add to this thread (actually what a lucky girl you've been to have two amazingly comprehensive replies from people who do know things !) Just wanted to say that I am so sorry, you do seem to have been so unlucky recently.

am more fed up with the fact that even when you force yourself to go to the dentist and do everything you are supposed to do, these things still happen, and I don't understand why.

You know Carole if you'd have not forced yourself to go (apart from the 5 year gap) things could be much much worse. You are thinking you are in the worst case scenario here, but maybe your diligence has saved multiple extractions.

You know that I felt that way myself only yesterday. I have had a 2 1/2 year gap since my last dental clean and apart from the lasts few years I have attended for my usual check-ups. However, yippee doo, I have medium periodontal pockets AND I have been cleaning twice a day. Pees me off. Sorry, now I am starting off filling your thread with negativity and that wasn't the plan....I'll get my coat....

 

[brit]

I attend a dentist every 6 months always have done except for a 5 year miss years ago. I have always brushed and looked after my teeth. So I am more fed up with the fact that even when you force yourself to go to the dentist and do everything you are supposed to do, these things still happen, and I don't understand why.

Hi Carole
If it makes you feel any better, I think it is an age thing maybe. I am a similar age to you and have also been having a run of dental bad luck as well. Apart from regular attendence, brushing and flossing and a reasonable diet, there isn't really anything else we can do.
I'm sure it will pass. It is likely the cycle taking its course, of repair work needed because the 1970s amalgam fillings are gradually giving up the ghost.
The only other thing worth considering is whether you are grinding or clenching and making it worse that way - this is not an easy one to answer though and we still don't have much info about it on here.
Get saving up for those implants in your 80's lol would be my advice or at least that's what I am doing.
Brit

 

[Jaylah]

I also think antibiotics can make you feel down as well, I am sick of them now I've had about 8 or 9 courses now since Sept 2011. They do make me feel a bit off it.

For what it's worth, they always make me feel like utter crap.

 

[Pippa]

No medical advice from Dr Phil ...er Pippa LOL

Isnt it the pits when we suffer for ages/ years with regular agonies of toothaches etc before we pluck up the courage to go to the dentist,then when we do that something goes wrong....and I am sure this last week makes you remember all the aches etc you suffered before going.

Sorry to read it is all going backwards and hope to hear soon the the antibiotics are helping at last.
Cant do jolly clappers today as there is nothing to clap for at the moment so I will doCarole instead.

 

[carole]

THANK YOU Carys leave your coat where it is your welcome to come and join in with your own teeth troubles I know you had a rough visit at your dentist, and I think you deserve a medal for staying and seeing it through to the end, you wore him out, he gave in first.

Brit I think you may be right, I did ask the dentist some weeks ago if it was my age and he said, I thought he was being tactful, it's not so much my age as the age of the work in my mouth. So you are spot on there. The root canal tooth was only filled about 5 years ago, but the filling before was old, and it was deep and the dentist that did it did say it would need rct at some point.

Jaylah, what can I say, I think I'll give that one a miss. I'm okay so far I'm pleased to say. I think I've had enough, I dare any other part of my body to start playing up.

Pippa for 10 years I have had all treatment needed including 6 month check ups the pain I was in before I got my new dentist in Sept was down to the dentist I had then telling me I was fine, when I had an abscess, this went on for 20 months, (I really need to let it go now) this went on through me going down on various occasions in between appointments and been made to feel like an attention seeker of a pest. I was in my 30s when I missed for 5 years so I don't think it has any bearing on things now.

Thank you letsconnect and Drhirst as well,it was very nice of you all to answer my question.

 

[Carys]

you wore him out, he gave in first

Too true, I feel a sense of victory now. lol

You sound brighter this morning - GOOD !!!!

 

[carole]

Yes I do feel a bit brighter this morning thank you, I think it all just caught up with me thats all, I've been at it non stop since Sept, I think I need a 6 month break. But saying that I am so glad that I have been able to get the treatment I have had, I would be in a sorry state if I hadn't been able to. I would do it all again, I just felt that after all that I was losing the battle, and for the first time in my life I feel I really want to keep the teeth I have. Not that I neglected them ever but I didn't have the same determination I have now.

Anyway I'm off before I type myself into feeling sorry for myself again. I don't drink but I think a good glass of
would do me good. When I'm off the antibiotics of course.

 

[Jaylah]

The idea that it all caught up with you may very well be perfectly valid.

I know that they've discovered that migraine sufferers don't usually get the headache when they're under stress. It's when things are finally over that they tend to get slammed.

I think that, when we're under a lot of stress, we tend to (unconsciously) think to ourselves, "I've got to hold it together to get through this." Once things seem to be getting resolved, our brains (again unconsciously) decide they can go ahead and have their nervous breakdown.

I agree that a glass of good vino would probably do you good Carole. As well as a good long break.

 

[carole]

I just thought I would update this, so anybody that hasn't had a root canal need not worry, today right at this minute I feel very good no pain all the swelling has gone and my teeth have stopped aching now. Whewwwwwwwwww!! what a difference a day makes, thank goodness. My tongue doesn't feel too bad either. Gums under my bridge don't hurt either I've just realised, so I think now things will be fine, I have everything crossed that I carry on now as I feel right now and the dentist will sign me off.

So I am giving myself some of these

Jaylah, I know what you mean about things catching up with you, I deal with emergencies and drama's with a cool and calm it is usually some time after I get a reaction. I think it is how you say that while your mind is busy sorting problems out you go into auto pilot and cope.

 

[carole]

To catch up and bring this up to date. My mouth is wonderful no pain anywhere, not lumps or bumps on my gums. I go to the dentist on Wednesday for a review and that should be it until September when I should be having crowns on the two teeth I have had rct on, and a little false tooth for my gap.

The question now is would I have a rct done again on another tooth if I needed it ?

You bet I would, in a breath. Without hesitation.

Even if they don't take and I still end up loosing the teeth I would still do it, it is a gamble and I don't see any reason why they wouldn't work, but I would take the chance again.