Tooth extraction issue

Eircom_Sucks

Long story short

Got a tooth out on 13.10.17 and the dentist couldnt get all the tooth out , was at me like 45 mins , so had to leave a piece of the root in ( i’ve got like horse teeth huge ) so he prescribed me pain relief and something to stop it getting infected , now here i am 12 days later and still in pain , granted not as bad as it was , my gum still feels swolen

Never asked me back or to go to hospital to get rest out , simply said the gum would close over it etc and that the nerve etc was all gone etc

davo10

If you have large/curved roots, it's not uncommon for the roots to fracture during removal. Even if the whole tooth came out, the area would still be sore up to 2 weeks (sometimes longer) later.

When a root fragment is retained, the options are to leave the fragment in situ. As the bone heals the root fragment gets squeezed to the surface and a couple of months later it is very easy to remove. The second option is a surgical procedure to remove the retained fragment. This can be painful and the healing period can be longer as there is a larger defect in the bone after extraction. Also if a lot of surrounding bone is removed, it may be more difficult or impossible to place an implant.

I rarely remove retained roots at the time of extraction. I explain to the patient that the root will usually rise to the surface and I will reassess at the next check up appointment. If the area becomes swollen/painful some time before that, then I surgically remove it. I like to retain the bone as much as possible, the patient may not be considering an implant immediately, but they may do months/years later, if the bone is gone, no implant.

Your dentist informed you of the retained root, if it's still sore in a couple of weeks, it will need to be surgically removed.

Dianthus

OP, contact your dentist to arrange to be seen for a review appointment. Especially as the bank holiday weekend is coming up. The dental surgery hasnt a clue what's going on with you pain-wise unless you let them know; they probably assume you're back to normal& running around the place. Please pick up the phone first thing tomorrow morning

As per precious posters reply, it's a reasonably common (albeit v frustrating!) scenario. If the root is narrow/spindly/curved& surrounded by thick strong bone on all sides, the bone will win out& "retain" that part of the root at it's weakest point.