So, on Tuesday of this past week I went to the dentist as I had began experiencing some pain in my #4 tooth. I had a previous root canal done about 4 years ago, and to cut it short, he said I needed to go to an endodontist because I needed to have the root canal redone. So Friday, I went to my appt. with the endo, and he took some x-rays, and eventually decided I needed to have an apicoectomy.
My question/statement is: I’m having SEVERE pain, but it’s more around my cheek bone, around my nose, and a bit around the tooth, but it hurts more about an inch up, rather than on the tooth. He prescribed me Vicodin and 800mg. of Ibuprofen and antibiotics, but I’m just wondering if this normal to have pain that high up. I’m quite worried that I might have a very severe infection, and possibly osteomyelitis is developing. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I’m having the procedure done on Tuesday, so I just have to deal with the pain for 3 more days.
Also, I’ve broken my foot before, sprained my ankles multiple times, and had some pretty bad injuries from bike wrecks, and just being stupid. Why is it that this toothache trumps all those in pain? It keeps me up at night, and the past 3 nights I’ve only had 5 or so hours of sleep from the constant throbbing. It’s quite mind boggling.
Wow, thanks for all the answers. I do have a bit of swelling on my cheek. It’s not to an extreme level, but when I look in the mirror, there is a slightly noticeable difference from my right and left. The doctor took about 7 x-rays, and said nothing of an abscess, so currently I’m just going to trust his good judgement as he is the professional. Is there anything you could recommend to help me sleep? As I said, I was prescribed Vicodin 5mg, and I’ve been trying to my best to take them as prescribed (1-2 tabs every 6 hours), but I’ve had to take them more frequently. I’m not abusing them (I’ve never been a big drug person)… they help me fall asleep, but within two hours, I wake up with the throbbing. The reason I ask is because I missed about 3 days of work last week, and I can’t exactly miss anymore as I have quite a few responsibilities there. Also, what kind of pain can I except to experience after the surgery?
Call the doctor now and tell them what is going on. If you can’t a hold of them, maybe you should go to the ER and have them check you out. I know it’s a pain in the ass to go there but if you’re that worried you should make sure nothing is wrong.
Pain in the area around the face can be intense because of the larger number of nerve endings in the area. Some people say that it is worse than childbirth.
The pain higher up means that you have an abscess at the tip of the root. The antibiotics should help control the infection, but until the area is cleaned surgically (that is the apicoectomy) it may not start the healing process.
Take the antibiotic as directed and hopefully the infection will get better by the day of the surgery.
Good luck
Carlos Boudet, DDS
http://www.boudetdds.com
your tooth may have an abscess at the apex (where the root ends) now I think that the reason why it’s painful is because it hasn’t drained itself yet. you can look around your gums to see if there’s any white pimple like growth on it and it might become the draining site. The reason why it’s so painful is because of the intense pressure there is next to your sinus.
I’d get it checked if you can’t see a possible canal opening… did the endodontist take a periapical film? to see the apex of the tooth (the film shows the whole tooth, compared to a bite wing that has the crowns of the teeth only) maybe he or she didn’t see the abscess since it may have been a bit higher up, if you call them again they may be able to fit you in for an emergency procedure.
good luck!
I had a root canal get infected as well, in my case they had to pull it because when I went to the dentist he tried to refill it and broke one of the ‘prongs’ on my tooth that was rotting >.< It was extremely painful for days before it was pulled, so I know what your going through, my advise is to try some ‘mind over matter’ hoopla. You know your tooth is messed up, right? There shouldn’t be any reason for it to keep trying to tell you its in pain, so just turn it off. Oh, and ya, it hurts your whole head, I still remember feeling like my temples were going to explode
For someone who needs an apico, this is where I would expect you to have pain. Because of how the nerves run in your jaw, they actually carry the pain straight up when you have an upper tooth infection. The questions I used to ask patients to help diagnose a root canal infection in an upper tooth were “do you feel pain all the way up in your sinus or below your eye”? “Does the pain travel straight up from your tooth into your nose or cheek?”
The tooth has a previous root canal, so the nerves in the tooth itself have been removed. You’ll only feel pain from nerves and tissue surrounding the tooth, not from the tooth itself.
You do have an infection, and while your dentist put you on antibiotics to keep it suppressed until Tuesday, it can take up to 48 hours for antibiotics to start relieving pain.
If you have any swelling or a fever, I’d consider it a same day emergency – get to the dentist now.
If not, you may want to call your dentist, as he may decide to up your antibiotic dosage, but most likely once the antibiotics kick in you’ll be fine until Tuesday.
Osteomyelitis and the infection traveling throughout other parts of your body is so rare – one in about one million patients with severe infections will develop it. 99% of the time, a tooth infection remains localized to your tooth/jaw area. This isn’t to say it can’t spread, but it most likely won’t. And if you aren’t swollen and don’t have a fever, your chances are very, very, VERY slim to none.