Hi! I'm going in tomorrow morning to have my dental abscess addressed by an Endodontist. The abscess is in my last tooth (molar). Just wondering if anyone has gone through this? What were your symptoms? No fun! It came on very suddenly and very painfully. I'm starting to feel anxious about the procedure. The dentist told me that it's going to be around 2 hours. HOLY COW! That's a long appointment. Anyone go through this before? BTW, the tooth with the abscess already had a root canal about 20 years ago.
I'm on Clindamycin and have been on it for 3 days.
For those of you who have been through this, please share your experience.
Thanks!
I had a small abscess happen last year on my 2nd to last molar I just had the thing pulled, my teeth have not shifted and I find it hard to believe they ever will whith as tight as my teeth are in the gum I cant imagine them shifting unless my gums soften up. you should be fine.
My good friend's mom died last year because the infection went systemic while she waited 3 days for an appointment. My husband lost 40lbs after his was drained and he was put on antibiotics (the infection was starting to go systemic).
Don't be afraid of getting it taken care of! Be afraid of NOT getting it taken care of!!!
Clinda is a hard hitting antibiotic (probably doing a number on your stomach). Don't skimp on it. Abcesses are no joke, but fairly easy to deal with as long as you've got a whomping dose of antibiotics in your system and get it cleaned out as soon as possible (They DO usually want to wait a couple days after a massive load of antibiotics, so that it's killing the infection prior to surgery. Waiting with hard hitting antibiotics, you should be just fine. My friend's mom didn't have them yet.)
I have a molar that has a root canal on it and was told that if it was abcessed the tooth would most likely need to be extracted. They said that after the root canal there really isn't any direct path to the root tip anymore so it would most likely just need to be pulled if anything else happened to it. I would say that is definitely something they may consider if the root canal was 20 years ago. I would say the length of the appointment is appropriate because they would still need to repair the root canal if they don't pull the tooth. I had an abcessed tooth due to stabilizing bar in my mouth for 8 years and the pain was awful. Even narcotic pain meds did nothing. I did have the tooth pulled because there was nothing they could do to save it. Stay on the antibiotics. A lot of times they can change their treatment plan based on the antibiotics. Good Luck! I hate having any dental work done.
I did have something like this resistantly. I had an abscess and went in for a root canal on my last tooth. It wasn't as bad as getting a filling filled. He was unable to complete the root canal because I had a crack in the tooth and it had to be pulled. That was no way near as bad as I thought it would be, nothing like getting the wisdom teeth pulled. I had it done about a month ago and the gum it all healed-and I really don't miss that tooth. It was $400 less to get the tooth pulled than a root canal-the crack it made the choice and the savings for me. My Invisalins I wear at night still fit-so my teeth aren't moving.
Get a bite guard it will allow you to have your mouth open with out you having to hold it open. Just think when was the last time you got to spend 2 hours sitting in a reclining chair. Good Luck!
I've had the same thing happen to me! I had had a root canal and a crown on the tooth done a few years ago. Starting aching a few months ago and the Endodontist said he could do exploratory surgery and possible do an apical treatment(?) if the tooth was not fractured otherwise he'd have to pull the tooth and I would require an implant (very expensive!). I opted to take antibiotics, which has helped, until my dental insurance takes effect.
I don't think I'm helping you much, but can relate to what you're going through. I'm sure your doctor will take good care of you. Please let us know how your procedure went. I wish you the best!
Don't be upset, get it done. I had dental work about three years ago and I had two root canals to have done. One was completed but the second wasn't completed and had a temp cap but got infected. Hubby was worried about my being able to breath and I was worried about the pain in my face.
The "infection" went away and the root canal was completed. However about six weeks later I had a problem and the dentist had to drill through the crown to the root. There was a spot that was not drilled out and it was causing all of the problem. Once the "pop" was done any left over pressure was gone. My side affects from the tooth were sinuses and coughing bouts that didn't clear up until the tooth was fixed (4 months). So do take care of it. I feel the tooth was on its way to going septic but caught in time.
Two hours is a small price to pay for getting a tooth repaired. I would rather have a root canal than a filling any day.
Hope the pain subsides and your dental work goes well.
The other S.
I had this done too. My tooth had a root canal 13 years ago and the abscess came on quickly also. Very painful! But the surgery was easy and honestly I was in much less pain after because the infection wasn't as bad. Nothing to worry about!
I had the same issue some years ago. My root canal was nearly 25 years ago. It is very important you get it taken care of. The procedure will be essentially the same as for a root canal. The endodontist will drain the infection, redo the root canal if necessary (mine was botched and it took this long to find out) and put in a temporary filling until there is no more evidence of infection. Mine was so bad I had to go back every day for 3 days to get it drained. Once it is healthy you'll get a permanent filling. Don't be surprised if you will need a crown on that tooth.
I went through this about 8 years ago. Same deal as you, it was a back molar that had a root canal done at one point and the pain came on suddenly and painfully! I also had some swelling in my face. I went to my dentist on a Friday after 2 days of mild pain, who put me on an antibiotic and some pain killer that didn't work for anything. I was in AGONY over the weekend while waiting for my Mon. appt. and to clueless at the time to call the Endodontist's emergency #. I literally would give birth any day over having to go through that pain again. I don't know what Clindamycin is but I hope it's working for you!
As far as the procedure, everything was fine! It was about 2 hours. I went into the office in tears from the pain, they gave me novacaine and I felt no pain during the procedure. They go into the tooth and drain out all of the infection, which I guess oozes out of the tooth. I had no pain by the end of my first appt. but did have to go back 2 additional times for them to completely get all of the infection out. It's important for them to do that before sealing the tooth back up. I was on an antibiotic and painkiller after, but I really didn't feel I needed the painkiller at that point.
I would not stress about the appt. at all. It's going to be fine! The appt. was the easiest part of the whole ordeal for me because it relieved me of the pain. And, it is so worth seeing the Endodontist because you don't want to just have the tooth pulled, like my idiot dentist recommended at the time as a quick fix, I'm glad I had better sense. Good luck!
