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You are here: Experts > Health/Fitness > Dentistry > Dentistry > Root Canal
Expert: Gary Backlund, DMD, MSD - 10/30/2009
Question
Hello. I was wondering if you can help me with my mental unrest?
I thought a filling fell out when a strawberry seed got stuck but I guess it was chunks of tooth. I nursed the hole the best I could and went to the dentist when it started to hurt for no reason even after I brushed.
They did an xray and said it is not a filling, gave me antibiotics and sent me home, scheduling a root canal for 10 days. I had no reason to fear this new office because they did everything right, and I checked. I even asked a dental surgeon that will remove my wisdom teeth if a filling fell out and he said it (the one in the tooth beside it I guess) looks fine.
The day of, I came in and they were using bent tools on me from a packet labeled "old tools". I got a look at one, it looked like a tapered spring but very bent. He ditched it for a new one 3/4's through the procedure but still! They took an xray and missed the root tip so the guy guessed where the root tip was. The shot wore off part way through and he didn't give me another shot until I started crying.
Then he filled it anyway even though he guessed where the root tip was, took a better xray and said if he was wrong he'd call.. Why not wait the 10 minutes? Why fill it and send me home when the bad xray was their fault?
Now I am in worse pain than before. I can't chew softly without it touching teeth, causing sharp pain, which is normal I guess but he didn't even leave me enough room to eat pudding without intense pain. My temple hurts, my lower teeth hurt (it was a front upper molar, it hurts there a lot too). I feel my teeth pushing together, like I feel them touching, it feel weird!
It is a generally annoying pain in the nerve and referred around my face, that makes me want to get into a fist fight. It has been almost two days and it is getting worse. Tylenol ones and migraine gels ain't helping much. I still feel pretty annoyed when pain jets through my face. Some pains even reach the other side of my mouth, and it never did that before. The temple pain, unbearable. The annoyance and depression, that is just my reaction to the pain.
Should I run for my life or is all this pain and incompetence normal?
Answer
Hi Erin,
I'm SO sorry you have gone through all this. It sounds like a real horror story!What you went through is NOT normal. It would never happen in my office. Since we're dealing with the Internet, obviously, I can't diagnosis your problem. I would suggest that you find an endodontist in your area, call for an appointment, explain that you are in pain and what has happened and get in ASAP for help. Hopefully, there is a quick solution to your problem so you can put this all behind you.
Good luck! Let me know what you find out.
Gary Backlund DMD, MSD
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