I think I almost died.

[Death Metal Moe]

Try to make this quick.

Sunday I got a tooth ache in a tooth that is pretty bad but hadn't bothered me. On Thursday I couldn't take it anymore and went to the dentist. Seems I waited too long, it was infected and needed a root canal. So my dentist does it, gives me some antibiotics, says Advil should be able to cut the pain and sends me home.

Well Thursday night was probably the worst night of my entire life. I took 4 Advil, waited a half hour, slept for 20 minutes, took 4 more and that went on all night. There was a point where I just wept for about 2 hours non-stop. I didn't know what to do with myself and there was nowhere to run from the pain.

Friday a lot of the pain went away but now my face is swelling up. And it didn't stop. I went back to him on Friday morning, he takes out the temp filling and just leaves it open with some cotton in the nerve hole so I could drain, give me 8 Tylenol 3 and sends me home. Those painkillers didn't last too long but I tired to save them for night so I could sleep.

My face was friggin awful. My left eye almost completely closed and my lip and cheek doubled in size.

Saturday morning he called and right after that for some reason the swelling started to REALLY go down and I started to eat again. He said the anitbiotics take time to start working, I guess he was right about that.

Right now most of the swelling is gone and I'm hoping to go back to work tomorrow. But after talking to a few people, they said they've known people who have died battling what I had, and that he should have never worked on an infected tooth.

So anyone know anything about this stuff?

[Badinia]

Was the word "abcess" used?

Oh, Moe, that sounds awful. I am glad you're feeling better. My dentist told me that Advil would cut it for mine, but I stayed up all night crying, smoking dope, and taking Thai painkillers. Awful, awful.

[Death Metal Moe]

I don't know if he specifically said abcess but there was one. I felt pressure up behind my nose above the tooth and I told him that.

[grlNIN]

I've never had to have a root canal but there doesn't seem to be a lack of sayings about how awful they are and how bad the post pain is.

I can't even imagine how it must feel though, i cried when wisdom teeth started breaking through the gums, i don't know that i could handle a root canal.

Im surprised he didn't give you anything a la Vicodine or Percoset for the pain.

[mikeyboy]

Root canals aren't always that bad. I had impacted wisdom teeth removed, and that was much, much worse. There was some pain afterwards, but only for a few hours, and it was the type that was manageable with over the counter pain reliever. My mother-in-law once had three root canals, and went back to work afterwards, so it's not something that should normally cause that kind of fear.

Sorry it went so badly for you, Moe.

[underdog]

Tooth pain is the worst. There's almost no way to get away from it.

Twice in my life I've had a part of my mouth get so infected that I had to get emergency help. Once, they took a knife to the inside of my mouth with no painkillers or anything just so they could drain the abscess. They had to have two guys hold me down while they did it. It was fucking awful.

[Death Metal Moe]

I forgot to add that I've had an abcess before and a root canal before but never the 2 together. This kind of pain isn't normal for me.

I had an extraction that had an abcess under it. Those are awful because they numb the tooth but you feel every bit of pressure up in the abcess.

The root canal was a breeze. No real pain, I was back on my feet the next day. Never saw any real slow down.

So I didn't expect ANY of this shit. I got this most recent root canal at 10:30 AM Thursday and went back to work for 1 PM. It wasn't until everything wore off at about 4:30 that my hell started.

[Death Metal Moe]

Tooth pain is the worst. There's almost no way to get away from it.

Twice in my life I've had a part of my mouth get so infected that I had to get emergency help. Once, they took a knife to the inside of my mouth with no painkillers or anything just so they could drain the abscess. They had to have two guys hold me down while they did it. It was fucking awful.

I was starting to go so crazy that I took a steak knife in the bathroom and tried to poke a puffy area of my gums because I thought doing that would release whatever was in my head.

It didn't work.

[OneEyeJack]

is your dentist from Pakistan?

[Death Metal Moe]

is your dentist from Pakistan?

My dentist is actually a very good dentist. His father has had a practice for well over 50 years, worked on my grandparents. His father and him have worked on my parents and myself all my life.

I'm not accusing him of anything other than maybe a bad judgement call on this one. I will go back to him, its not his fault I didn't take care of my teeth.

I just thought I'd ask around to see if anyone else has this kind of experience and to see if what I heard about it being a bad idea to work on an infected tooth was true.

[Death Metal Moe]

I also feel like a fucking hostage that was just released.

My 1st shower after the swelling went down was like the greatest experience ever. I started to feel human again. The 1st time I ate actual solid food was like the best tasting food ever.

I actually had to ask for those fucking Ensure things because I couldn't eat solid food. I knew I needed something in my body to help me fight but I couldn't chew. Hell, I could hardly open my mouth anymore.

http://phc-online.com/v/vspfiles/photos/Ensure-24x8oz-2T.jpg

I hate these fucking things. All they do is remind me of my grandpa and how we used to feed them to him in the home when he stopped eating actual food. Since they taste sweet we used to tell him it was milkshake.

[Jughead]

I just think he should have gave you something stronger for pain.......Hope you are feeling better Moe!!!......:smile:

[hunnerbun]

I thought that they treated the infection from the abscess before they did the root canal. Isn't there a danger that the infection can get to the heart? I have a client who has a heart condition and any time she needs dental work done, even just a cleaning, she has to go on antibiotics before she can get it done.
It for sure seems dangerous to me to do a root canal when there is infection in the gum or bone above the tooth.

[Death Metal Moe]

I thought that they treated the infection from the abscess before they did the root canal. Isn't there a danger that the infection can get to the heart? I have a client who has a heart condition and any time she needs dental work done, even just a cleaning, she has to go on antibiotics before she can get it done.
It for sure seems dangerous to me to do a root canal when there is infection in the gum or bone above the tooth.

That's what everyone I talked to so far has told me, hoping someone who is in the field or at least knows something about medicine can tell me that.

[RhinoinMN]

My condolences Moe. Sounds absolutely awful.


Calling DrJoek. Calling DrJoek.

[PopPop]

I had a very similar thing happen to me. I ended up in the hospital for about a week. I still have the scars from the surgery to drain the infection. If it (the infection) gets into your bloodstream it gets very serious in a hurry, according to the surgeon. Sooooo. I had no idea that your teeth could make you that sick but they can. Thank God you are here to post about it. Keep you follow up appointments and I will be asking for some divine intervention for you. If anyone thinks this might be happening to them, go see a doc or a dentist. Not something to muck about with.

[SatCam]

pussy

I would have waited until I was atleast passed out in the shower and my face the size of a watermellon before I saw a doctor

[DeltaPin]

I thought that they treated the infection from the abscess before they did the root canal. Isn't there a danger that the infection can get to the heart? I have a client who has a heart condition and any time she needs dental work done, even just a cleaning, she has to go on antibiotics before she can get it done.
It for sure seems dangerous to me to do a root canal when there is infection in the gum or bone above the tooth.


That's what happened to me several weeks ago. Had some pressure behind one molar, check up confirmed that I had an infection. My dentist put me on antibotics for 5 days, went back in for the root canal at the end. Next day everything was fine.

[Mike Teacher]

The hell of teeth is a Special one; I have been in a lot of different types of pain, and I cant think of many things worse.

Wed was my root cannal part 2 for a tooth. Long story short, as the novacaine wears off, I feel pain, as more wears off more pain, so by 3pm I'm on the phone to the dentist...

Who is gone for the day... secretary said she left messages and he wasnt answering...

90 minutes later when the secreatery I screamed at gave me his home cel I was screaming at him becuase the pain was so bad it gets surreal. They call it the Universe of Pain, because it becpomes everything. You cease existing as a normal human being and are reduced to a weeping sobbing blob of protoplasm.

You cant sleep; minutes become hours, hours are days. Food doesnt matter. Nothing matters. Maybe you can pass out for a while in an upright position; coz as Moe knows, everytime you move, everytime your heart beats, its like someone has put a screw in the tooth and is just twisting away.

The three hours from pain so bad to chuggung Vidodin was so long and painful that its not a brag or a gloat talking about it; I was fucking crying.

=

Your story about the shower and *not* being in pain is wonderful.

Pain doesnt have much memory. Meaning we can remember how bad the pain was, but we cant make ourselves feel that exact pain on demand, thank Christ.

If we could, we'd appreciate life a LOT more. Coz as Moe said, when you're in that kind of pain, there's a new sensation, called *not being in pain*, and we forget how blissfully... welll... non painful it is. Just the sheer feeling of not being in pain; I wish I w=could extend that feeling. Sure puts things in prespective.

As to abscesses [sp?] and infection it is a double edged sword; my dentist has me on so many antibiotics now it sucks, antibiotics are terrible, exept they will keep infection away. And your teeth are little havens for infection, and not only can it kill you, and kill your heart, check out an X-ray of your upper teeth and see how close to your brain they are. Infect tooth = bad news.

Glad youre feeling better. The length of this post will lull anyone in pain to sleep.

[Coach]

Dunno if they were abscesses (yes mike, I believe your spelling to be correct), I guess they were. I had the roots of two top molar teeth grow into my sinus cavities..I had really bad sinus infections most of my life..so what was another one?..Well it lasted over a year..I finally went and had it checked and the doctor had me see a dental surgeon the next day..both teeth were pulled, root and all. Afterwards it was like the floodgates of hell opened and exited out my nose..never knew a person could have so much snot in them, let alone the color of said snot that came out..The doctor said I was damn lucky I didn't go toxic..it is nice to have a sense of smell back as well.

[drjoek]

Ive been out of town and finally got the chance to check in and I see people are nearly dying from dental related problems.
Dental info
Dental decay that advances to reach the nerve of a tooth is what causes the need for root canal treatment. Since the tooth is a confined space the infection will cause increased pressure and the severe pain associated with it. Root canal treatment is the removal of live and diseased tissue from the tooth and replacement of it with an inert material for stability.
The diseased tissue in the root that extends beyond the tooth will result in an abscess. The abscess can be there a long time and that is why the need for antibiotics to control the infection.

Big time INFO
Facial structures cantain many "spaces" along which abscess infected material can travel and result in the swollen faces and access to the blood stream and heart structures. Therefore it is urgent to not ignore such things. take all of the antibiotics that are presrcibed and don't mess around with it. Swelling can lead to very serious complications. This should not be taken lightly

Good news
If treated things resolve pretty quickly and you will be back to normal before too long.

[FUNKMAN]

Ive been out of town and finally got the chance to check in and I see people are nearly dying from dental related problems.
Dental info
Dental decay that advances to reach the nerve of a tooth is what causes the need for root canal treatment. Since the tooth is a confined space the infection will cause increased pressure and the severe pain associated with it. Root canal treatment is the removal of live and diseased tissue from the tooth and replacement of it with an inert material for stability.
The diseased tissue in the root that extends beyond the tooth will result in an abscess. The abscess can be there a long time and that is why the need for antibiotics to control the infection.

Big time INFO
Facial structures cantain many "spaces" along which abscess infected material can travel and result in the swollen faces and access to the blood stream and heart structures. Therefore it is urgent to not ignore such things. take all of the antibiotics that are presrcibed and don't mess around with it. Swelling can lead to very serious complications. This should not be taken lightly

Good news
If treated things resolve pretty quickly and you will be back to normal before too long.

i know alot of people don't believe in the root canal. too many experiences with the tooth either, turning brown/dark, cracking, or eventually having to be pulled or replaced

i'm not convinced either way although I recently had a tooth pulled. this tooth had two root canals and a post and crown. i continued to receive an infection at the base of this tooth and they next wanted to cut my gum open to see if there was any microscopic pieces of
"material/something" left over from the root canals. i decided to have it pulled

[nukinfuts]

My mom had an abscessed tooth and I remember her bitching about having to take antibiotics before the dentist would do anything because they can't if you have an infection. So he gave her antibiotics and pain medication and a week later she had her root canal. You need to get a new dentist..that is horrible to have to go through that.

[Kris10]

Ugh!

Teeth hurt. I had to have a molar pulled out once and I was a big baby and had to be knocked out for it. I hope I never have anything like you experienced, Moe. I'm glad your doin' better!

[King Hippos Bandaid]

I had an abscess last month where I had a root canal

the pain was immense, I went to the dentist who gave me an antibiotic

he said take the anti biotic and wait 2 months before getting work done



because if that infection gets inside the root and inside your vital organs, it can be deadly

the infection needs to go away before any work

[banditorico]

Recent studies show a link between heart disease and periodontal disease.

Article Link: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/periodontal-disease-heart-health

Periodontal Disease and Heart Health
Brushing and flossing may actually save your life.
By R. Morgan Griffin
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

If you're worried about heart disease, you can easily spend thousands of dollars each year trying to prevent it, paying hand over fist for prescription medicines, shelves of healthy cookbooks, fitness machines for your home, and a gym membership.

Or maybe not. A number of recent studies suggest that you may already have a cheap and powerful weapon against heart attacks, strokes, and other heart disease conditions. It costs less than $2 and is sitting on your bathroom counter. It is none other than the humble toothbrush.

"There are a lot of studies that suggest that oral health, and gum disease in particular, are related to serious conditions like heart disease," says periodontist Sally Cram, DDS, a spokeswoman for the American Dental Association.

So can preventing periodontal disease, a disease of the gums and bone that support the teeth, with brushing and flossing prevent heart disease?

The evidence isn't clear yet, experts say, but it's intriguing. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, people with periodontal disease are almost twice as likely to have coronary artery disease (also called heart disease). And one study found that the presence of common problems in the mouth, including gum disease (gingivitis), cavities, and missing teeth, were as good at predicting heart disease as cholesterol levels.
Evidence Links Periodontal Disease and Heart Health

When it comes to the connection between periodontal disease and heart disease, epidemiologist Moise Desvarieux, MD, PhD, is used to dealing with skeptics.

"One of the talks I give is called, 'Investigating the Links Between Periodontal Infection and Vascular Disease: Are We Nuts?'" says Desvarieux, from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "It's not a connection that people naturally think of."

Desvarieux was the lead author of a recent study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association that studied 657 people without known heart disease. He and his co-authors found that people who had higher blood levels of certain disease-causing bacteria in the mouth were more likely to have atherosclerosis in the carotid artery in the neck. Clogging of the carotid arteries can lead to stroke.

Atherosclerosis, also called "hardening of the arteries," develops when deposits of fats and other substances in your blood begin to stick to the sides of your arteries. These deposits, called plaques, can build up and narrow your arteries, clogging them like a plugged-up drain. If these plaques ever block the blood flow completely, you could have a heart attack or stroke, depending on the location of the blockage.

(Note: Not all plaque is alike. The plaques in your arteries have nothing to do with dental plaque your dental hygienist scrapes off your teeth. Dental plaque is a sticky residue of bacteria, acid, and food particles that can irritate your gums and eat away at tooth enamel.)
Evidence Links Periodontal Disease and Heart Health continued...

So what might hardening of the arteries have to do with gingivitis, that minor villain of toothpaste and mouthwash commercials?

No one is sure yet. Experts know that bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream through the gums. These same bacteria have been found clumped in artery plaques. So one theory is that these bacteria stick to the fatty plaques in the bloodstream, directly contributing to blockages.

Other possibilities lie in the body's own defense mechanisms against bacteria. One of the body's natural responses to infection is inflammation (swelling). It's possible that as these oral bacteria travel through your body, they trigger a similar response, causing the blood cells to swell. This swelling could then narrow an artery and increase the risk of clots.

That inflammation could be the root of the problem adds to data researchers are gathering that suggest more and more diseases, including periodontal disease, heart disease, and arthritis, are partially caused by the body's own inflammatory response.
Could Periodontal Disease Cause Heart Attacks?

So could periodontal disease, gingivitis, or another dental disorder, pericoronitis (when gum tissue around the molars becomes swollen and infected) cause heart attacks and strokes? It's far too early to say.

"There's no question that there appears to be a connection," says Gordon Douglass, DDS, past president of the American Academy of Periodontology. "But the exact relationship between cardiovascular disease and periodontal disease isn't clear."

"It's like the chicken and the egg," says Desvarieux. "In our study, we know that people who had higher levels of the bacteria had more arteriosclerosis, or atherosclerosis. But we can't say whether one caused the other." The only way to know, he says, is to follow up the people in his study to see how they fare in the long term.

But even if periodontal disease isn't actually causing heart disease, the connection could still be important. For instance, periodontal disease might be an early sign of cardiovascular problems. Heart disease can be hard to catch early, because many of the conditions that precede it have no symptoms. You won't ever feel your arteries hardening or your cholesterol rising. But you might notice bleeding or painful gums.

If further studies bear out the connection between periodontal disease and heart disease, the next step would be to try treatment, Desvarieux says. Might taking antibiotics not only help heal oral infections but, as a result, also lower your risk of heart disease? No one's sure, but it's possible.

It's still too early for official preventive steps, since researchers don't know exactly how heart disease and periodontal disease are connected.

"Obviously, people worried about heart disease need to pay attention to the established risk factors," Desvarieux tells WebMD. "I wouldn't want people to think that if they just started to brush their teeth more, they could go back to smoking or ignore their diabetes."
Could Periodontal Disease Cause Heart Attacks? continued...

If you're at risk of heart disease, do the obvious:

* Lose weight if you're overweight
* Eat healthy foods
* Exercise most days of the week
* Control any conditions that increase risk, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure

But Cram of the ADA argues that everyone should make a special effort to prevent oral health problems. That's especially true, she says, for people who are at higher risk of developing heart disease. And Douglass adds that if you already have periodontal disease, you certainly shouldn't ignore it. In many cases, you may just need to learn better brushing and flossing habits. More advanced cases of periodontal disease may require a trip to the dentist for a careful cleaning of the roots of the teeth, called scaling and root planning, or surgery.

"I think the evidence indicates that you should clear up any periodontal disease," Douglass tells WebMD. "It's fairly easy to do, and why not get rid of a potential risk factor for heart disease?"

He also stresses that people who have heart problems or recently had cardiac surgery may need to take antibiotics before having any dental procedures. Medication will lower the risk that bacteria from the mouth will wind up infecting the tissues of the heart, causing a dangerous condition called endocarditis.

For most people, however, Douglass says that sticking with commonsense tips can head off problems. "If you keep your mouth clean, it's very hard for the bacteria that cause periodontal disease to get started," he says. You'll also reap other benefits -- fewer fillings, healthier gums, and a brighter smile.

"We've always known that a little prevention goes a long way, but we used to think of it in terms of avoiding cavities and things like that," says Cram. "Now it seems that by using your toothbrush and your floss, you might also be preventing much more serious health problems down the road."

[Death Metal Moe]

Well thanks everyone for the info and well wishes. I think I'm going to avoid a black eye which is nice. Still some swelling and redness but I'll be going back to work tomorrow.

I will be finishing the antibiotics, don't worry about that. They are what eventually saved me. Once they kicked in I was over 50% better withint like 12 hours, it was crazy. It made me feel kinda silly for being so crazy, but I honestly have never had a reaction like that. And the swelling made me look like a monster, it was awful. I had no idea it would all go away so quickly.

I actually ate my 1st real meal tonight since the problem. It was great.

[thepaulo]

I think all the nerves in my head are dead...so I generally don't feel pain in that area.

[Death Metal Moe]

I think all the nerves in my head are dead...so I generally don't feel pain in that area.

The ones that help you sense good movies are for sure.


OOOOH SNAP!!!!!!

Just kidding, who loves ya Paul?

can we get a little ge ge ge?

[thepaulo]

I actually recently had an abcess for a few months but it was so little problem we almost forgot to pull the tooth.....

[Dougie Brootal]

terrifying! glad you feel better dude!

[topless_mike]

well, i got one for you.

my wife lived in romania until age 9. when she left in 1987, only the rich could afford anesthesia, and they werent, so all her dental work up to then was done au natural by a hack dentist (including tooth extraction.)

so, they come here in 1987, poor, knowing some english, and she needed to go to a decent dentist. they go to this old guy where they first moved to (he's now long dead), and he did a root canal. 16 years later, her 2 front upper teeth start having problems, and she's developed this big bump on her gums. its a massive abcess about the size of a quarter. it just popped up almost overnite. we go to my kick ass dentist, and he performs a wicked surgery on her. he cut the gums at the canine's, and peeled them up the the bone at the bottom of your nose. he removed the abcess and all the nasties that came with it. pulled down the gums, and stitched them up. it took about a month for the stitches to dissolve and every thing return to normal.

2 years later, it came back again, but only at a fraction of the original size. repeat surgery.
a year later, it came back again, but barely noticeable. repeat surgery again, only longer and more extensive.

to date, no signs of it returning.

but yes, i have heard of people dying because infections formed in the mouth spread to the rest of the body. maybe thats why the denist went to such extremes to fix my wife.

[topless_mike]

It made me feel kinda silly for being so crazy, but I honestly have never had a reaction like that. And the swelling made me look like a monster, it was awful. I had no idea it would all go away so quickly.

I actually ate my 1st real meal tonight since the problem. It was great.

pain hurts, dood. there's no shame in that. as long as its getting better.

[JerseyRich]

Man...

I really feel lucky.

I had all 4 wisdom teeth out my Sophmore year in College. It was not a bad experience at all. I just had cotton shoved in my mouth all afternoon...then a little the next morning...After 2 days, back to eating normal food. Back to work on the 2nd day as well. Dentist gave me some Tylenol 3...which has codeine in it....And i quickly found out I was allergic to it.

Other than that, I've had 6 fillings(The 1st of my life) in the past 2 years....No novacaine. I'm hardcore like that.

Glad to see you are doing better moe. Hope you're back on the bacon soon.

[Furtherman]

terrifying!!

No shit. This is the most terrifying thread I've ever read. I had no idea.

Glad you're feeling better Moe.

[Death Metal Moe]

No shit. This is the most terrifying thread I've ever read. I had no idea.

Glad you're feeling better Moe.

Thanks man, but didn't mean to scare anyone.

At most I hope it alerts people to a fact I didn't know. It seems very dangerous to do work on teeth that are infected. So just keep that in mind when you go to the dentist.

Also, don't be a dumb ass like me and sit on a bad tooth ache for 3 days. I understand I had my part in all this.

[Knowledged_one]

I am now deathly afraid of the dentist for two reasons,

One a dentist charged me for a cavity that she knew needed a root canal, and i actually had to get the root canal two days later

and two, when having a wisdom tooth removed, they couldnt get the tooth out and had given me the maximum allowed novocaine. So the tooth was half out and they said i had two choices leave the tooth half out and come back two days later or they could drill real quick into the middle of the tooth and then kill the nerve right away with medicine. I said just do teh quick drill the lady said it takes 1.5 seconds, well it took 6 seconds and she had to drill 3 holes, i actually had to grab my fist as i almost punched her. NOw i am deathly afraid of the dentist. Next time i go, i actually have to get put under for them to do the work as i just cant take it anymore i start getting the flop sweats going near the places