Root Canal Problems

[Noodle24]

In the last week or two i've started to get a dull toothache in a tooth that's had a RCT many years ago that's remained constant. After seeing my dentist he undertook an X ray of the tooth (Bottom Left furthest Molar) and saw a small black shadow which he said could be infection or inflammation. He recommended the tooth would need removing in future but insisted that it wasn't a problem right now. The filling on the top of this tooth did chip a few months ago when the tooth next to it was removed.It has since been repaired.

This is where i get concerned. I am due to go abroad to Italy for a week in just 10 days time. I shall be going with a lot of friends and family to celebrate my 30th. I explained this to my dentist who said that unfortunately it was just a case of leaving the tooth and hoping it didn't get too painful, no antibiotics prescribed. I'm very anxious about this problem getting worse over the next 2 weeks.

My questions are:

1. Should i just go on holiday and hope the infection doesn't get too bad (if it is that) or should i push for antibiotics?
2. Could the small black spot at the bottom of my root be anything other than infection?

 

[Busybee]

Noodle you're only going for a week and the worst case scenario you can see a dentist as an emergency while you are in italy. I was in Italy with someone who had a problem with a tooth a couple of years ago and even though we were in a remote location she was taken to see a dentist in town and they did really help her. Try not to worry, there are good dentists there too. Make sure you have insurance. Take ibuprofen with you just in case.

But it could be that the dental work you had is a bit too high and it's making the tooth more tender or "bruised". Could be your bite after having an extraction has shifted too much pressure there. There could be other factors.

A dentist saying it "could be infection" doesn't meant it's an infection. See another dentist for an opinion. There's no point taking antibiotics if there is no definite infection, in fact it's a risk to take meds for no reason. I've had experience twice of being told I have an infection which turns out to be nothing. Always worth it to see more than one dentist about that. If your dentist was sure then you'd have been prescribed meds. It's not always that obvious in the early stages. See another dentist for an opinion before you go just to put your mind at rest. A second opinion doesn't cost much.

 

[Noodle24]

Thanks Busybee,

I guess i just let anxiety get the better of me. I spent the best part of £1k trying to save the tooth next to this one which ultimately got a bad infection and came out. Just wanted to mitigate the chances of this happening again over the next few weeks as much as possible.