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What could look like grafting material in an x ray?

M

MountainMama

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
2,593
Okay, sorry, that was an awkwardly worded question but I have no idea how else to ask.

I have an odd situation. Tuesday, at my oral surgeon consult for extraction and implant of my front tooth, the surgeon took a 3d x ray. He said that the endodontist must have put grafting material in when she did the apico. I said I didn't think she did, as she didn't tell me. He pointed to the x ray and said, "right here. It looks like some sort of grafting material. She must have added a little".

It was bugging me, so I called the endodontist today. She said she did not add grafting material and had no idea why it would appear so.

The apico was done 6 months ago. I still have residual infection, which is why I am having it extracted.

What would look like grafting material on the x ray? Should I call the surgeon and let him know that no graft was done, or just leave it until surgery next month?
 
Probably best to let them know
 
I would call the oral surgeon and ask. I wish I had the expertise to answer your question, but maybe a dentist will add their opinion? I would want to know to help settle my mind. Best wishes!
 
I called the oral surgeon's office yesterday. My surgeon was out that day, but I talked to a nurse. She just said that was odd, and she would make a note in my chart, for the surgeon.
 
The surgeon will clean the lesion at the time of extraction.
 
The surgeon will clean the lesion at the time of extraction.

Okay, so nothing to worry about then. It can all be taken care of on the day of surgery, no matter what it is? I know it isn't anything dangerous growing in there, because the endodontist had a biopsy done at the time of the apicoectomy. It is just weird, which seems to be the norm for me. I am coming to terms with the fact that this will all be worth it in the end...no more pain or infection. I just have to make it through the surgery. At least he can do both lower molar implant and upper extraction and bone grafting at the same time. No stressing over this twice in the same month!
 
Good luck! I’m impressed with how much you have been through and your increased ability to handle it, be proactive, and be positive. I’m guessing that the surgeon will be able to tell you what he found and cleaned out afterwards. I’m always hopeful that when I see you have posted something that it will finally be good news for you. Keep us posted!
 
Good luck! I’m impressed with how much you have been through and your increased ability to handle it, be proactive, and be positive. I’m guessing that the surgeon will be able to tell you what he found and cleaned out afterwards. I’m always hopeful that when I see you have posted something that it will finally be good news for you. Keep us posted!
Thanks. I am so ready to have some good news! I will be celebrating once I get my implant crowns and can chew again on the right side. That will definitely be a success story for me. I am definitely still having major anxiety about going to the dentist, but the surgical procedures are getting easier to handle, so the fear around extraction and surgery is definitely lessening. It helps that I really like and trust my oral surgeon. The dentist I am still not 100% sure it is a good fit. He is good at what he does, but he seems quick to dismiss things and jump to procedures...not as conservative as I would prefer.
 
I understand about not being certain about your dentist and preferring a conservative approach. I have started to view my experience from a different approach. My dentist and endodontist suspect a neuralgia for me, but I also have work that needs to be done. So they have recently been very conservative until I get a proper diagnosis or rule out neuralgia, to avoid over-treatment. But in the meantime, my pain keeps getting worse and I am convinced it’s actually something that could be fixed by root canal and crown or extraction if they would move forward. Anyway, I will look forward to hearing how your next appointment goes and will be sending you pain-free and anxiety-free days ahead! ?
 
I understand about not being certain about your dentist and preferring a conservative approach. I have started to view my experience from a different approach. My dentist and endodontist suspect a neuralgia for me, but I also have work that needs to be done. So they have recently been very conservative until I get a proper diagnosis or rule out neuralgia, to avoid over-treatment. But in the meantime, my pain keeps getting worse and I am convinced it’s actually something that could be fixed by root canal and crown or extraction if they would move forward. Anyway, I will look forward to hearing how your next appointment goes and will be sending you pain-free and anxiety-free days ahead! ?

I can see your point, too. I just get frustrated because any work seems to aggravate the tooth nerve into dying, but the dentist wants to jump to a crown on a tooth that may or may not be cracked. He hasn't even really examined the tooth, just did the bite test, which actually produced no pain. To me, that seems like a crown may not be necessary, and a crack may not even be present. Plus, if he preps for the crown and the tooth follows the same pattern as the last two, the nerve will die and I will have to get it extracted, leaving me no chewing teeth at all.
 
I can see your point, too. I just get frustrated because any work seems to aggravate the tooth nerve into dying, but the dentist wants to jump to a crown on a tooth that may or may not be cracked. He hasn't even really examined the tooth, just did the bite test, which actually produced no pain. To me, that seems like a crown may not be necessary, and a crack may not even be present. Plus, if he preps for the crown and the tooth follows the same pattern as the last two, the nerve will die and I will have to get it extracted, leaving me no chewing teeth at all.
I understand your frustration! I seem to get irreversible pulpitis with every treatment now, so that makes me nervous. Rushing into unnecessary work would make me anxious too!
 
Hi MountainMama, did you finally know what was that "grafting material"? I had a curettage on a socket and the surgeon removed a little piece of bone (like a little white ball). He thought it was a graft or maybe infected bone, although I don't remember any dentist doing a graft bone, only a root canal many many years ago :unsure:

In my last visit to the oral surgeon I remembered you, he said that my mouth it was a mistery and I instantly remembered a post in which you wrote the same thing about your situation :)

I readed that you are going well with your implants, I'm very happy for you! I hope my dental sockets and the rest of my mouth heals well in the future too because I'm tired of being scared and worried...
 
Hi MountainMama, did you finally know what was that "grafting material"? I had a curettage on a socket and the surgeon removed a little piece of bone (like a little white ball). He thought it was a graft or maybe infected bone, although I don't remember any dentist doing a graft bone, only a root canal many many years ago :unsure:

In my last visit to the oral surgeon I remembered you, he said that my mouth it was a mistery and I instantly remembered a post in which you wrote the same thing about your situation :)

I readed that you are going well with your implants, I'm very happy for you! I hope my dental sockets and the rest of my mouth heals well in the future too because I'm tired of being scared and worried...
The oral surgeon who said it looked like grafting did the clean out. He said it was basically a bunch of granulation tissue and infection. No grafting at all...it just had the appearance of it on the x ray.
I hope you can get through all this, too. I am so ready to be done with all this stuff!
 
Thanks MountainMama! Yes it's very frustrating... I say to myself that if everything is solved in the end then it will have been worth it!
 
Thanks MountainMama! Yes it's very frustrating... I say to myself that if everything is solved in the end then it will have been worth it!
For me it feels like as soon as one issue is solved another one arises. ?
 
For me it feels like as soon as one issue is solved another one arises. ?

I know what you mean... I send you a BIG huge for support :there-there:I readed about the many things that you have gone throught, and I hope you can enjoy again of your mouth pretty soon :hug4:
 
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