should this have happened?

annabelle79

Had really really bad pain in my mouth after a fall a week ago, couldnt figure out where it was comming from, after a few days the pain settled over one of my front teeth and i went to the dentist, the pain was comminh from abouve the tooth rather than the tooth itself.
anyway after xray and examination dentist decided I needed rootcanal which I agreed to.
After 3 anesthetics the pain was getting worse and once the dentist had cleared out the tooth and was injecting into ther nerve I felt the worst pain I think Ive ever felt, i saw a flash of light at the time and all.

Went home from the dentist in tears in more pain than when i went in and instantly felt my face begin to swell.
I went home and was in agony all night and had to take a sleeping tablet - I have a child and wasnt comfortable taking a tablet with him to look after.

Went back the next day to dentist as my face was swelling more, he gave me 2 anti biotics and different painkillers and went home.
Again in tears all night with my face throbbing and an ice pack against it all night. once again I needed sleeping tablet (this time getting someone to look after my child).
I was in so much pain by the following morning that I dont really remember much of the day, my parents camt to check on me and were about to take me to hospital when they saw my face, it was so swollen it was really obvious.
They rang dentist again and he said to come in, came in and saw a different dentist, basicaly he cut my gum and sucked out the puss which was causing the swelling.
Told me antibiotic should start working now....that cost me 150 euro....it was 175 for the root canal to begin with.

Now I paid it as I was out of my head in pain and from painkillers....but I dont know if thats right, should the whole thing not have been treated together???

i am still in pain and still swollen and have had 3 days off work so far this week!

Mingetoad

Is there any reduction in the pain?
Is there any visible bruising on your face?

helimachoptor

Op its best to talk to your dentist directly. We arent aware of the specifics of your situation from a medical point of view.

Oral Surgeon

Sorry to hear op,
Sure enough, a blow to a tooth can result in the need for root canal treatment...
As for pain during treatment:
A completely dead tooth should not cause pain during treatment.
A dying tooth will still have some vital nerves present and in some cases due to pre-existing pain or trauma, the nerve's threshold for causing pain is lowered and local anesthetic doesn't work so well- often called a "hot pulp".
A rarer cause is leaking of the naocl (bleach cleaner) out of the apex of the root into the bone and tissues above. This causes severe pain and tissue death- you will be extremely swollen and bruised but this is not a collection of pus as you later describe.
Sounds to me like the hot pulp, but hard to say....

As for the swelling afterwards, root canal treatment carries the risk of infection mid treatment as the dead/infected material is cleaned out, this is called a "Phoenix abscess". It is treated by antibiotics and drainage if necessary... Then later finishing the root canal treatment...

As for the extra charge... Phoenix abscess etc are no-ones fault, patient or operator but sounds harsh, I don't charge for complications...

Hope you are feeling better,
OS

annabelle79

thanks for the reply, The dentists are really nice and were very concerned....tbh I was so out of it with pain that I barely remember writing this post.

I didnt mean for it to sound like I was blaming the dentist, I just didnt really know what was going on. Still shocked by the extra charge, I wouldnt expect it for free but maybe thats a sugical charge or something, he used no drugs or anything to make me think it would cost so much.

Thanks for the information, at least now I have a better idea what went on.
Yes Im still in pain, but no bruising, still swollen but not as bad thank god.
Feels like it will never go away!

day dreamer

Sorry you are having so much trouble. It sounds like the infection spread into the tissues surrounding the damaged tooth.

This can happen unfortunately after the start of root canal treatment but it is unusual. It seems that things are on the mend and i hope it gets sorted out. Complete all the antibiotics and then get the root canal sorted out.

Good luck