Swelling in the Face - Root Canal Therapy

[@Cpradiostation44]

Very nice explanation Dr

[@darthlestrange]

Back in February I had a toothache the dentist did x rays but says he didn’t see anything he gave me antibiotics but I never took them the toothache went away and like a month later I started getting this cyst thing on my jaw I grow a beard so it was barely noticeable so I never cared just 2 weeks ago I popped the cyst and a lot of fluid came out I went to the dentist again and we did an x rays and he saw a huge black spot on the x rays and told me I needed a root canal. I shaved my beard I wasn’t growing hair on the spot where the infection is and the spot looks kinda weird. Just wondering if you have seen this happened before?

[@dentalaware611]

Hi Kelvin, Yes, I have seen this before as it is a natural part of the inflammatory process. The nerve in a tooth does not die from one day to the next. The process of nerve damage is gradual. If there is damage to the tooth from injury or decay the nerve is also damaged. The canal in the tooth contains blood vessels and nerve fibers giving the tooth its life and vitality. As the nerve is damaged areas of death within the nerve appear and the rest of the blood supply and nerve supply begin to regenerate the damage within the canal. The first symptoms are usually sensitivity to cold, then sensitivity to heat and then sensitivity to biting pressure. Eventually, the areas of death override the live tissues and the nerve dies. The pressure within the tooth builds up and pain may be felt. The body must get rid of the inflammation from the tip of the root the bacteria begin to bore a hole through the bone, then the hole may extend through the gum and ultimately in your case through your cheek. The infection is looking for an outlet, to release the pressure. If the inflammation (which includes bacteria, pus and other waste products) finds an outlet you live with this infection as the pressure is not building up. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT INFECTION IS NOT PRESENT. The inflammation is present and you continue to have a CHRONIC CONDITION. It must be rectified as this type of inflammation may cause systemic problems if your Immune system is being challenged or compromised. Root canal therapy is simply going into the canals of the tooth. Canals are cleaned, shaped and filled to stop the bacteria and inflammation from proliferating. Thank you for your questions. With kind regards, Dr V

[@tobbylover44]

Just had a Root Canal Retreatment due to the tooth chipping in order to put a crown on it. When the first root canal was done I didn’t get any symptoms or pain really afterwards, but now with this retreatment I have a lot of swelling on my cheek and I can feel it now around my eye on that side of my face. Is this normal?

[@dentalaware611]

Dear Jessica Please know firstly that Root canal therapy is "not" guaranteed". There are many factors which ensure success of treating the canal of a tooth. The canal of the tooth holds the blood and nerve supply. The anatomy and configuration of the canals inside the tooth are very varied and unpredictable. The aim of the Root canal therapy is to remove all the dead part of the nerve and blood supply. However, our instruments are straight and the canals can sometimes be angled which makes it impossible to remove all the dead tissue belonging to blood and nerve supply. We use medication inside the canal and we also use liquids which remove the bacteria and other dead tissue. One factor is to remove all the debris but another issue is "Fracture". If the part of the tooth was already fractured "chipped" then the force which created this damage could also have fractured the roots of the tooth. If the roots of the tooth are fractured it does not show up on x-ray until there is extensive damage to the surrounding bone. Another factor is that your immune system if you have other problems that the immune system has to clear away in your body then the inflammation could be also evident in the tooth as the body will try to eliminate anything that is causing inflammation in the body. So you can see that there are many reasons why a root canal does not work including the age, length of infection inside the canal system and your body's ability to clear up the infection. We as dentists use everything we have at our disposal to try and save the teeth. We continue to try and save it to eliminate all the above factors but sometimes the tooth is considered as a "foreign object" and the body must eliminate the tooth in that instance. Without x-rays, this is the best information that I can provide for you at this stage. But to answer your questions "no it is not normal to have inflammation in the body" The immune system will work and inflammation is a message that you have to help the immune system to remove the cause of the inflammation. Thank you for your question. With kind regards, Dr Veronica Roller

[@niharikapriyadarshini9087]

yesterday rct was done. severe pain in night and today swelling on gum and lip why

[@Aiswarya286]

How long did it take to go... I had it day before yesterday and the swelling still persists.. Dont know why... Pls reply me

[@18missmanning]

@@Aiswarya286 did it take a long time to go away

[@Aiswarya286]

@@18missmanning it took 1 week to be back to normal

[@gailb6406]

should I be concerned ? over 24 hours ago did root canal and one side of my mouth is still blown up. barely feel any pain or anything just my jaw is a little bruised. I also didnt start the anti biotics need to pick them up. what is the anti biotics for ??

[@How.Dare.You.]

so 20 years ago I had my tooth done with a metal nail. since then ive never had any issues. this year i did a panoramic photo of my whole jaw and went to a few dentists. all of the pointed out at that tooth that i need to have it done even tho i have no symptoms. this seemed weird but i trusted the doctors. they said if i get pregnant and something happens with it then i will have a problem. so i decided to do it now. they digged into the bottom, 2 visit it was fine, had 3rd visit yesterday and today woke up with a swollen cheek, not so much pain but discomfort. what now? denitst gave me anitbiotics for 1 week but the last visit (really the last?) is supposed to be in 2 weeks time... does this sound bad?

[@dentalaware611]

Thank you for your comment and enquiry. Firstly the tooth in question had no symptoms that you could detect but there could have been an underlying chronic infection that you did not detect. However, an x-ray can detect these types of long-standing infections. So obviously a few dentists agreed on the diagnosis. I am not sure what you mean by "digging into the bottom" Did you have the tooth removed or was there a root canal therapy done on the tooth. This simply means you had the inside of the tooth cleaned and filled. Either extraction of the entire tooth /OR removal of the inside of the tooth. These are two different procedures. From your description, you have had Root canal Therapy done in order to save the tooth. If I assume that you had Root canal therapy which means cleaning, washing and shaping the inside of the roots. So that the bacteria was eliminated and then the roots will be filled to the tip. This procedure is complicated and may have problems such as facial swelling. Since the infection was dormant for so long simply trying to eliminate the infection could cause facial swelling. Antibiotics are the main form of treatment including more cleaning and shaping of the inside of the root. These are very standard procedures. What my main concern is that the dentist is not explaining to you exactly what is going on. Ask the dentist to please sit down with you and explain in terms that you can understand exactly what he is doing and why you have had the reaction that you did. It is important the patient has the information for all procedures so that you can make an informed decision as to whether you want to remove the tooth or try and keep it. I hope that this helps. Just know that Root canal therapy is performed to the best of the dentist's ability but your body can react in many varied ways in order to heal the infection. Root canal therapy is not 100% guaranteed. Everybody is different and your reaction is dependent on the health of your immune system. Facial swelling is a symptom that your dentist can explain to you and the reason why you responded as you did. With kind regards, Dr Veronica Roller, Dental Aware

[@SamiaRahman3]

Just had a root canal done 2 days ago and the swelling is still there. I have a small face maybe that could be the reason. However I can't tolerate the pain so I'm constantly on pain killers, either ibuprofen or paracetamol. I know taking too much of these meds is bad for me, is there any alternative I can do? My next appointment with the dentist is after 2days. Thanks in advance.

[@lugodsmooth2344]

So what happen ? Did your swelling go down on it’s own ?

[@SamiaRahman3]

@@lugodsmooth2344 Now I'm doing better. Thanks. Turned out, the root canal wasn't done properly by the dentist so later a specialist had to make a root resection surgery to fix it. Apparently, German dentistry isn't as good as they claim to be.

[@briannakrsak197]

@@SamiaRahman3 this makes me super anxious because i had my root canal Tuesday and now my face is so swollen 😭

[@SM-il2rr]

I am also undergoing rct in Germany and my face is swollen.was your surgery covered by insurance and was it a back tooth(molar)​@@SamiaRahman3