SHORT VERSION: I'm still feeling pressure around tooth after retreatment (following failed original root canal). This is after two antibiotics (Augmentin and clindamycin) and the recent completion of the retreatment. The pain feels like it's in between my teeth, like it's in the gum. The dentist said everything looked good in the tooth and that none of the medicine had been displaced. Could there be some other issue here?
I've been having issues with a tooth for a while now (upper molar). I first had a cavity (which I believe they said was in between the tooth) filled in spring 2014. About a year and a half later (fall 2015), I noticed some sensitivity to hot and cold on the tooth, and I felt some pressure in the gum as well. It felt like I needed to floss in between the teeth, but when I went to floss, it provoked the gum and bled, causing more pain.
They opened up the tooth about 6 months later (spring 2016), due to an issue they saw with the filling on the x-ray, to find the pulp was inflamed and a root canal was needed. They did a root canal and the sensitivity went away, but afterward, I was still feeling the same pressure/pain in the gum between the teeth. This would sometimes ramp up (feeling like a bad ache), and I used over the counter medicines to tolerate the pain.
About a year and a half later (fall 2017), I was suffered intense pain, and the pressure ramped up significantly. I went to an endodontist, and a cone-beam CT scan revealed a large abscess that had been eating away at the bone. I then started retreatment of the tooth to save it (cleaned out canals, drained abscess, put medicine in), along with two antibiotics: augmentin and clindamycin (after the first one didn't eliminate the feeling of pressure). This significantly reduced the pain, but about a month later, they finished the retreatment and filled the canals, and I'm still occasionally feeling the same sense of pressure and almost a "sting" in the gum around to the tooth. It still hurts and bleeds when I floss in that area, and the pain can increase after significant chewing, just as it did in the years prior.
Any advice on how to proceed next? I know that if this fails, next steps would typically be extraction and implant, but I'm nervous that there is some other issue, since the dentist says everything looks fine and clean within the tooth (medicine was also not displaced). I'd also like to avoid losing the tooth if possible, of course, especially considering that I'm still pretty young at 21 years old. Could there be a separate periodontal issue here?
Thanks for any help and guidance!
I've been having issues with a tooth for a while now (upper molar). I first had a cavity (which I believe they said was in between the tooth) filled in spring 2014. About a year and a half later (fall 2015), I noticed some sensitivity to hot and cold on the tooth, and I felt some pressure in the gum as well. It felt like I needed to floss in between the teeth, but when I went to floss, it provoked the gum and bled, causing more pain.
They opened up the tooth about 6 months later (spring 2016), due to an issue they saw with the filling on the x-ray, to find the pulp was inflamed and a root canal was needed. They did a root canal and the sensitivity went away, but afterward, I was still feeling the same pressure/pain in the gum between the teeth. This would sometimes ramp up (feeling like a bad ache), and I used over the counter medicines to tolerate the pain.
About a year and a half later (fall 2017), I was suffered intense pain, and the pressure ramped up significantly. I went to an endodontist, and a cone-beam CT scan revealed a large abscess that had been eating away at the bone. I then started retreatment of the tooth to save it (cleaned out canals, drained abscess, put medicine in), along with two antibiotics: augmentin and clindamycin (after the first one didn't eliminate the feeling of pressure). This significantly reduced the pain, but about a month later, they finished the retreatment and filled the canals, and I'm still occasionally feeling the same sense of pressure and almost a "sting" in the gum around to the tooth. It still hurts and bleeds when I floss in that area, and the pain can increase after significant chewing, just as it did in the years prior.
Any advice on how to proceed next? I know that if this fails, next steps would typically be extraction and implant, but I'm nervous that there is some other issue, since the dentist says everything looks fine and clean within the tooth (medicine was also not displaced). I'd also like to avoid losing the tooth if possible, of course, especially considering that I'm still pretty young at 21 years old. Could there be a separate periodontal issue here?
Thanks for any help and guidance!