My daughter(who was 13 when all this started) had a tooth filled over a year ago. A couple days after they filled the tooth it was still very painful for her. She has had trouble with it ever since. Now she has developed an abscess in that tooth and they are wanting to do a root canal. There is a spot on her gums that is draining pus. I know this needs to be addressed, but I am so afraid of having the root canal done. They told me the tooth cannot be removed as the other teeth would "shift" and she is only 14. Any thoughts or suggestions? You guys are great and are always my "fall back"/"go to" for information and ideas. Thanks for always being here!!!!
Posted by trimom (Member # 25843) on :
My 14 year old had a root canal a couple of months ago and after about a month had a filling put over it as she is to young for a crown.
Posted by tickled1 (Member # 14257) on :
If the tooth is in the back and not visible and doesn't show when she smiles I'd have it pulled. If it is visible she needs a root canal.
Posted by orrn (Member # 6672) on :
trimom-Did she have a lot of pain during the procedure? Does she have Lyme Disease? The other thing I am worried about are the long term infection opportunities I here about with root canals. With your daughter having hers done only a couple months ago that would not be an issue.
tickled1-I actually agree, but they said that this is not a tooth that can be pulled without causing her other teeth to shift quite a bit. She has "crowded" teeth as it is, so I can see them all moving to the path of least resistance and fill in the hole left by the tooth.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I would sure search it out carefully before proceeding.
When I had my braces, they removed 4 teeth. It might be better to get braces than a root canal!
Are they SURE the tooth is DEAD?
Posted by tickled1 (Member # 14257) on :
Depending on where the tooth is I wouldn't worry so much about the teeth shifting. I would choose braces for her over a root canal too.
But, if the tooth is in a very visible place and pulling it would harm her self esteem then a root canal is the only option.
If not visible I would have it pulled and take chances with shifting and do braces later if need be.
Root canals are not the healthiest thing but damaged self esteem is not healthy either.
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Look into using pulsed magnetic therapy to help the abcess heal.
Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields (PEMF) influence cell behavior by inducing electrical changes around and within the cell. This improves the blood suppy to the cells, and speeds healing of injuries and infections.
The SOTA Magnetic Pulser may seem expensive initially, but if it works it will save the pain and expense of surgery. I used it to treat a painful tooth that needs a new filling, and the pain stopped!
SOTA Magnetic Pulser http://www.sota.com/magnetic-pulser.html You can google for a 10% discount code, and they have a 30 day guarantee, so you can return it if it doesn't work for you.
Posted by BoxerMom (Member # 25251) on :
I had a root canal at 14. I also had increasing pain for many, many months after the procedure. I finally got a huge abscess in my jaw that had to be surgically drained under general anesthesia.
The tooth was "fine" for 20 years after that. Except it wasn't.
The tooth was never crowned and it cracked. My dentist wanted to crown it to prevent splitting. I wanted it out and chose to have it pulled. I went to a holistic dentist.
The root was black with infection. It was disgusting. That had been in my jaw for 20 years.
I got the gums cleaned out and let them heal. Then I got a titanium implant which I love. No problems. Ever.
Turns out what happened to me was known in holistic dentistry but was not standard practice, which was and still is root canals.
Hal Huggins, DDS has been doing root canal research for years. His work is based on the previous findings of Weston A. Price, DDS. Here are some links:
If I had a do-over, I would not get a root canal. Can your daughter get some kind of bridge or spacer to prevent drift?
Posted by tickled1 (Member # 14257) on :
Hmmmm...Boxermom, you have me regretting mine.
Posted by Tammy N. (Member # 26835) on :
I would strongly suggest going to a highly regarded BIOLOGICAL dentist. They have a much deeper understanding than traditional dentists. And also, most of them use ozone, which can sometimes produce miraculous results.
If there is any chance of saving the tooth with its root and ridding the area of infection, I think your best chance is with a biological dentist.
If the tooth has to be pulled, there is a snap in type of tooth.....my friend has one. I think it is something like a mini denture. No one can tell its fake. You can easily snap it in or take it out. This way the other teeth won't shift. It doesn't damage the other teeth the way a bridge does. I would not do a root canal, and I would never do an implant, so I think this snap in type thing would be best. Sorry I don't have more specific info on it.
Best to you.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
There are new implant materials that are not metal...they are carbon fiber, or ceramic - instead of titanium.
I'm seeing a dentist (biological) who recommended the carbon fiber implant to me. Just have to wait for the tooth extraction site to heal more first before we can start the implant process.
I do agree, biological dentists (must find a GOOD one...there are some out there who are quacks) seem to have more in-depth training on how to save teeth without causing more problems in the future.
Posted by tickled1 (Member # 14257) on :
Here's the question: How expensive is it to go to a biological dentist?
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
It's not real bad, tickled. At least my biological dentist wasn't much more than a regular dentist. Depends upon what you need to have done .. and mine did not take insurance.
Posted by tickled1 (Member # 14257) on :
Thanks Tutu. Wish there was one closer to me.
Posted by orrn (Member # 6672) on :
How would I go about finding a biological dentist in my area? I cannot let this go on too long as there
is an area on her gums that drains pus. I think that is better than NOT draining though and then she
always rinses with Listerine. This kills a lot. She is also on chewable Amoxicillin, although this
is causing a lot of pain throughout her body. Thanks for all the input. I was very leery about
her getting a root canal and know now that my gut feelings were probably right on track. The only
doubts were that she is only 14 and that getting a permanent tooth pulled is something she will live
with for the rest of her life. I would rather her live with that issue than more health issues
though. She deals with enough, having LD.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
Until you can get your next step in place, have your daughter do some oil pulling. It is such an amazing therapy. Go to oilpulling.com for more info.
It's very simple: Organic sesame oil Swish in mouth for 20 minutes on an empty stomach Spit out Rinse with warm salt water
Posted by trimom (Member # 25843) on :
My daughter's tooth feels much better than before.
If the tooth is pulled the teeth will shift especially more since she is young.