I am concerned about my tooth. I had a root canal treatment several years ago. The tooth started bothering me again so I went to see a new dentist. I hadn’t been to one since my first root canal treatment. He did an x-ray and found another infection. He did a re-treatment as a result. He also prescribed me a z-pak and some pain meds. The pain started to improve and then got significantly worse. I called him back and he said some people take longer to heal than others. It’s been another week and I am in more pain than ever. Should it be taking this long?
Lanie
Dear Lanie,
Something is seriously wrong here. If I understand you correctly, your infection started to feel better and then started hurting again. This is a bad sign. Most root canal re-treatments are only successful 50-75% of the time. Your dentist should have recognized there was something wrong and at the very least prescribed a new antibiotic for you. In fact, dental infections usually are prescribed Clindamycin.
It is apparent to me your infection has returned. This is considered a dental emergency. I want you to call an endodontist, which is a root canal specialist, and explain the situation to them. It’s very likely they will try to get you in as quickly as possible. Make sure they prescribe a new antibiotic for you in the meantime. This is important. We need to stop this infection from spreading any further. Your jaw is close to your heart, lungs, and brain.
How to Not Avoid the Dentist
You mentioned you hadn’t been to the dentist since your last root canal treatment. We often see that in patients who suffer from dental anxiety. They’ve had a bad experience and it’s been hard for them in the dental chair ever since. Since then, they avoid the dental chair as much as possible.
We have found the solution to this is to see a sedation dentist. They can provide you with medication that will relax you during your dental appointment. In fact, depending on the level of sedation, you could even sleep through your appointment. Most patients who’ve tried this have found that it changes the way they feel about going to the dentist.
This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.