Recurrent Pain, Implants??

[min]

I fell over and knocked one of my front teeth when I was about 12 and consequently it went black over time. I've had it successfully bleached a few times. About 2 years ago, I developed a huge infection in the tooth and underwent root canal therapy.

The endodontist told that the tooth wasn't in too bad shape and that although I would probably eventually need an artificial one put in, it should be fine for quite some time. Everything has been ok up until the last few days when I've suddenly been experiencing pain and tingling behind the tooth.

Is it likely that another infection has developed and if so, what are the chances that I'll need an extraction? Having an artificial tooth drilled into my jaw sounds expensive and painful, but I don't want to look like a toothless bogan!



Thanks in advance

[Dr Kailesh Solanki]

hi many thanks for your enquiry. if the infection has come back this means that the root canal treatment you have had done is failing.

The first question i would ask is was the root canal treatment done by a specialist endodontist? if not i would first get the tooth assessed by a specialist to see if he can re root canal treat the tooth and remove the infection.

If the tooth has been treated initially by a specialist then you could have an apicectomy which is a small surgical procedure which require the gum above the tooth to be cut and the infection removed from the root of the tooth. the sucess rate of this procedure if again done correctly using the right materirals is around 70%.

alternatively then the only other option would be to have the tooth removed and to replace the gap.

The gap however could be replaced using an implant, which is the screw going into the jaw bone. the procedure is no worse than having the tooth out and the cost is generally around £2500.

the other fixed option would be a bridge. this is a device that is placed over the gap area and made to look like a real tooth but it is held in place by the teeth beside the gap. the teeth beside the gap therefore need to be prepared and so is more invasive than an implant and also it does place more strain on the remaining teeth. The average cost of this would be around £1600.

The final option would be a non fixed option a denture.

hope all this information is useful. if you require any further assitance please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Dr Kailesh Solanki
Clinical Director of Kissdental
WWW.kissdental.co.uk

[Dr Pav Khaira]

I agree with Dr Solanki that the key here is was the treatment done by a specialist? If not it would certainly be worth a consultation with a specialist. If the tooth is hopeless you would ideally want to know sooner rather than later as the infection can damage the bone and make placing an implant more difficult

Hope this helps

[Camster]

Last Friday/Saturday, I experienced this acute pain on my front tooth. This tooth was painful even to touch. I put it down to a knock (to that tooth).

The pain did not go away and seems to extend to my nose, left cheek and to my left temple - basically, the left part of my face was in pain.

The Monday just gone past, I applied a cold compress to my upper lip and to my upper gum - it provided relief from the pain.

Yesterday morning, I woke up and the left side of my face was swollen. There's a shiny red colour to this swelling. The swelling got worse as the day progressed. I also had a fever. As I could barely get out of bed, my wife got hold of our GP and was prescribed Augmentin 625mg and an anti-inflammatory medication.

As per our GP's advice, I've had 3 doses of Augmentin (Tuesday 6:30pm, Tuesday 9:00pm and Wednesday 2:00am). I do feel better now (4:51am on Wednesday). The swelling is still there and the offending tooth still hurts (though to a lesser degree).

I decided to do a bit of research - it seems I have a tooth/dental abscess or facial infection or buccal infection. Are these the result of one of the other?

I've made an appointment with my local dentist, but upon further reading, I see suggestions that say it's better to wait for the swelling to subside and to finish the antibiotic course before doing anything else like draining the abscess. What the best thing to do today? I am not in pain now. Face still swollen and tooth hurts but to a lesser extent.

I include some links that I found:
http://www.meb.uni-bonn.de/dtc/prims...tml/x1270.html
http://www.rcsed.ac.uk/journal/vol47_3/4730012.html
http://cks.library.nhs.uk/patient_in...dental_abscess

In addition, I seem to have an enlarged right protid gland and what seems like a growth/cyst on the right side of my face. (This is something I've noticed from before and not related to the current infection which is affecting the left side of my face).

I would like to get to the bottom of this. Please advise as to what I need to do, which specialist to see (maxillo-facial, etc.?)

Really appreciate any help rendered.

Thanks.


Cam

[Dr Pav Khaira]

It certainly sounds like you have an abscess. Your GP gave you the wrong antibiotics. Don't worry as GP's rarely give the correct antibiotics for dental infections as the ones commonly used are not often prescribes by GPs.

A good private dentist will be able to ascertain the root of the problem very quickly. I would suggest you do not wait and get in ASAP. You may need to see a specialist if the treatment required is very complicated but from what you describe therapy should be quite straight forward.

I have every confidence that with correct therapy this problem should resolve. If the tooth is unrestorable I would talk to your dentist about implants which are a superb tooth replacement option

Hope this helps

[poehertgreelp]

hi, new to the site, thanks.