Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I have had root canals in the past. They have all been successful, except this last one (I think)...LOL! The root canal was done on an upper left canine. Then, the tooth was covered with a crown. I am not having intense pain from the tooth when eating but the gum is swollen and there is pain/pressure underneath my nose when I touch my face like when washing. There is still some infection going on IMO. I had the root canal done in March of 2021. The dentist did tell me it would take a while for the infection to clear up but geez, it has been over 6 months now after the procedure.

Has anyone here experienced anything like what I am describing? Maybe, the general dentist should have referred me to an endodontist but he did it himself. If they retreat the tooth (another root canal), won't the old crown have to come off and be replaced? I don't think they can drill through it and do another root canal and reseal w/o compromising the structural integrity of the crown.

Ugh, this dental crap is super expensive too. You can easily spend thousands of dollars on a single tooth.

KillSwitch wrote: I had the root canal done in March of 2021. The dentist did tell me it would take a while for the infection to clear up but geez, it has been over 6 months now after the procedure.

I'm sorry you are having this problem. You should get it looked at and perhaps have an X-ray to see if there is an infection and what the extent is. This is far to long to be having any pain for swelling.

My dentist usually starts the process of cleaning out the root but he has always sent me and my husband to an Endodontist to finish the job - they have more specialized tools to complete the job. Depending on the type of cap you have, the Endodontist may be able to drill through the cap and refill it as though it was a tooth.

I would have a consultation with an endodontist.

OK, thanks daydream and VeganKit for your replies. I have an appointment on Wed. I will update this thread as I try to get this resolved. I am actually not having any pain. I think I should have seen the dentist again 2 months after that procedure when things did not resolve completely like he said. That infection is in an area on the face called the triangle of death. I just thought about it. I wonder why he did not give me more antibiotics after. He only gave them to me prior to the procedure. I should have bypassed the DMD and gone straight to a specialist myself. The thing is he did some others without any complications.

I don't have any severe swelling or bad pain but I know the infection is still there. I can press one area below the left nostril on my face and it hurts (a little) from the applied pressure.

Hello Everyone,

I saw my general Dentist today at 10AM. He thinks there is still some infection going on. After examining me, he is referring me to an endodontist for retreatment by doing another root canal by either drilling through the crown or a root canal via something called an apicoectomy. I will update again after the 12th when I see the specialist. He has also got me back on antibiotics during the meantime, ugh!

The good thing is I am not in any pain yet I suppose, LOL.

Sounds like you’re getting appropriate treatment now. Not being in pain is good