Root canal hell - slightly off topic

So I've posted about this before. I had a root canal started on dec 24th due to extreme pain. I went to an emergency dentist who cleaned the tooth and then packed it. The pain went away within 5 days. THen I had the root canal finished Jan 3rd.

My regular dentist commented that they had used a formocresol dipped pellet to sterilize the tooth (this contains fomaldehyde!). He cleaned it out and then completed the process. I was in pain the whole time and when he inserted the warm gutta percha it stung like crazy for a few seconds.

I walked into the office OK and walked out in pain. Mostly in my cheek and tooth. THe pain went away after about 6-7 days but the cheek pain turned into a burning sensation. I have had this burning sensation ever since and now it moves around to my forehead and my jaw. It's a dull burning and not incredibly painful but still very unpleasant.

I have been getting pain shooting into both my upper and lower teeth as well for short spurts. This continues on all day and then at night...well my heart is insane at night. I haven't gone into afib yet (though I'm waking up 10 times a night and splashing cold water on my face)

I'm at my wits end, the doctor says it will probably go away but it might be trigeminal neuralgia (!). My nervous system has completely gone crazy apparently.

My dentist admits there was a bit of an overfill in the root canal but says it can't be related.

I don't know if it's the overfill or the toxic formocresol or both but I need to do something, It's driving me nuts and killing my heart.

I was thinking extraction of the tooth but I've read stories where that just makes the pain worse. Maybe way worse and permenent.

I know this is only partly afib related but I just need to vent and to maybe get some opinions. This really sucks.

Monty

Monty - I have great empathy for you. Nothing is worse than a tooth/nerve problem. I don't want this to sound like second guessing, but the problem with using a general dentist for root canal is often just what you are experiencing.... the specialists that have extra training and credentials (Endodontists) get consistently better results. It's not normal to have that much discomfort and post-procedure pain and complications. It may be that in the long run, extraction of that tooth will be required... and if you do that...then use an Oral Surgeon or Periodontist so they can clean and pack the extraction site properly. It does not have to lead to permanent pain and sometimes the only solution is extraction... but I emphasize, use an expert and not the general dentist.

I presume you are on antibiotics? When they pack the canals, typically that's when the trouble begins if all of the bacterial infection in the canals and the bone at the root tip is not managed by some type of anti-infective. When the problems compounds as yours has, it often takes powerful antibiotic therapy to calm it down.

Again, so sorry to read this...I know how miserable you are.
Jackie

Jackie,

Thanks so much for replying, I actually sent you an email a couple of days ago about this.

I'm not currently on any antibiotics. I finished a 10 day course of clindamycin over Christmas ending the day I had the root canal finished.

After that time it was quite painful but as the pain receded I started getting burning sensations in my cheek and now I have nearly constant burning sensations in my cheek or my four head or my job as it seems to shift around. As well I sometimes get pains in my upper and lower teeth on the right side. My dentist says it's not related to the root canal but my doctor thinks it might be trigeminal neuralgia triggered by the dental work.

I'm going to see an endodontist today for an opinion but I really don't know what to do about this. My doctor hopes it will just go away but it seems to be getting worse. Jackie, do you have any experience at all with this sort of thing, I've been going to the trigeminal neuralgia websites and the amount of people who have terrible chronic pain That was triggered by dental work is amazing.

The pain in my teeth comes and goes and is fairly minor, my biggest concern is the burning feelings I'm having in my cheek for head and jaw.

My dentist says he's never seen any thing like this before so I'm more than a little worried that this is going to be a chronic condition.

Monty



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2013 12:35PM by montos.

Monty - Resend me the email.... for some reason, I didn't get it.
This certainly is complicated. If you didn't have any of those symptoms prior to the RCT,
then it would seem that's the cause...disturbing something in the tooth meridian pathway.
Jackie

"My dentist says he's never seen anything like this before." Is there a single dentist, doctor, or auto-mechanic who does not have this line tattood onto their palm for easy reference??

Monty:
Don't Know Your dentist but I have had several root canals. I'd be changing dentists if I were YOU.
pmme if you want to di scuss but T now have a very healthy mouth,

Murray L

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Tikosyn uptake Dec 2011 500ug b.i.d. NSR since!
Herein lies opinion, not professional advice, which all are well advised to seek.

I've also had a lot of root canals. I haven't had one fail since I started paying a leading endodontist who does the whole thing pretty well painlessly (awesome novacaine technique) in a single 1 hour visit. Like EPs have done thousands of ablations he has done thousands of root canals. You need a specialist.

One thing I found out. I would never do an apicoectomy again for a failed root canal. Too much pain and doesn't always work.
I would go straight to an implant in this case.