Hello,

I got root canal treatment 7 years ago and one last week i got fistula. Not painful without bleeding so i went to my dentist.
Hi push silicone stick into fistula made X Ray and told me that previous dentist miss one root. So he recommended to retreat my root canals. This is sad but i don't have any other options. Or i have?
So i have appointment in 3 weeks he told me that should be good and fistula don't grow further and don't cause further problems in 3 weeks. I hoop
My question it is good to retreat root canal? Will after that my infection go away? Or it is better to extract my tooth and put in implant?
I am really confused after Google

Hi Thomas,

Your dentist should have informed you more thoroughly.

Root canal treatment does cure an infected tooth. It does not matter if there were large canals that were missed with the previous treatment or how many times the tooth is treated. It will remain infected because there is no access to the many hundreds of microscopic canals which will continue to harbor infected nerve tissue. I will post a diagram of the anatomy of a tooth so you can see how the tooth is full of these microscopic canals called dentin tubules.

The fistula forms when the tooth becomes overwhelmed with infectious bacteria. The fistula is the body's way of trying to find a way to drain some of that bacteria. The infection moves beyond the tooth, burrows a hole in the jaw bone and creates an opening through the bone and gum tissue. This opening is the fistula.

Because the tooth will remain infected, even after another root canal treatment, the fistula will keep coming back.

Your dentist may also give you the option of doing a surgical root canal which is called an apicoectomy. This root canal is done through a surgical opening in the jaw bone rather than through the biting surface of the tooth as in a conventional root canal. It is irrelevant which way the procedure is done as the end result will be the same.... the tooth will remain infected.

The other problems with root canaled teeth or any chronically infected tooth is that the infection will burrow through the tooth and make it's way into the jawbone. It can then travel into the bloodstream and so forth. You may already have this occurring to some degree since the tooth has been infected for 7 years.

If you extract this tooth, it should be done by an oral surgeon and the surgeon should thoroughly debride the socket clean of any visibly diseased tissue and bone. If this debridement is not done then the infection will continue to brew as if the tooth were still present. Not all surgeons do this automatically even though they have all been taught to do this with each extraction. It would behoove you to let the surgeon know that you WANT him to do a thorough debridement.

Putting a dental implant in the jaw bone where a root canaled or long term infected tooth has been carries a high risk of infection and failure because that bone is usually not stable enough to hold an implant. The long term success of these implants is compromised.

Depending on which tooth this is, you may not have to be concerned about replacing it should you decide to extract it. If it does need to be replaced, ask your dentist what your replacement options are... example... removable partial denture... nesbit partial... fixed bridgework... etc.

FYI... There are some new protocols being utilized (by some integrative and biological dentists) during root canal therapy to help reduce the bacterial count within the tooth. Things like direct ozone therapy and the erbium laser along with less toxic antiseptics to irrigate the canals. Yes, these things do kill bacteria. However, they cannot reach the microscopic canals nor make an infected tooth healthy again as it is not possible to sterilize a tooth. They also cannot restore the vitality to the tooth which is essential in order for the tooth to be healthy and not rejected by the body.

I'm sorry this is not the news you had hoped to hear... unfortunately, dental infection can be a serious problem and holding onto an infected tooth is not healthy. If you want to do your own research for accurate and truthful information .. you can google The Root Canal Coverup, Dr George Meinig. Stay away from sites like quackwatch as that is only there to stir up additional skepticism about issues that the founder knows little about.

Please see the attached diagram of a tooth.. the tan lines marked dentin tubules will give you a clear view of just how many inaccessible microscopic canals are in each tooth.

I hope this is helpful to you...
Bryanna

Attached Thumbnails

 

Read what Bryanna has to say and then read it all again and again. Watch "Root Cause" a documentary which was forced to be removed from Netflix recently by the American Dental Association.

I'm living in a hell caused by a situation such as yours. Four years after a poor root canal exploded in my head I lost of all my upper teeth and numerous illnesses that appeared one day after the "treatment". I continue to suffer with a huge amount of inflammation in my body that I cannot get rid of.

Get that horrid thing out of your head!!!!

Gizzy,

Thanks for referencing my post as a positive read. Really appreciate it!
And The Root Cause movie too! It is currently available to rent or download from iTunes store, Vimeo or Amazon Prime Video.

I am so sorry you are dealing with health and dental problems due to a chronically infected tooth. Have you consulted with a Biological dentist? You may be able to locate one on the IAOMT.org site. Someone in that field often refers to like minded doctors to help with the systemic problems.

Take care..
Bryanna

wow

I have done this missed root so i hope fistula somehow go away. How long she will stay? Month?
Next question what to i am very confused. I can extract my tooth but what then? This is my first molar and second one i lost years ago during accident. Implant now is no way because it is so expensive and i am currently not in state to afford him this year
Now i am so scary that fistula will stay and infection spreads further.

In summer 2006 I allowed a general dentist to perform a root canal on a molar. The very next day I had a real bad taste in my mouth. Go back to the Dentist who said everything was just fine and sent me home with some antibacterial mouthwash. What he should have done is sent me to an Endodontist as a general dentist can't see all the roots clearly or at all and I found out years later he had been told by a Endodontist to stop doing these molar root canals, a warning he totally disregarded. I continued to taste the foul crud in my mouth and immediately noticed a drastic change in bowel habits but never ever linked the two together until a couple years after and I had a hard time getting my Dr to listen at first. Five years later October 2011 the tooth exploded, the entire time my intestines raged. I was seeing Dr at the time and he tried hard to figure this all out once he saw my side of things. With the infection boiling in my head I was on tons of antibiotics, every time I went on them my stomach issues improved immensely but only for a short time.

When the RC tooth exploded in 2011 I was then sent to Endodontist who was right ****** when she scanned my head and saw the mess my dentist had made, she was the one who had told him to cease and desist as he did not know what he was doing. The infection from the bad tooth spread to neighbouring teeth and in the end I lost all my upper teeth because of it in 2014. After that I had no issues with my head and jaw but I did have noticeable swelling on my right sinus nasal cavity which only went away when on antibiotics and still have it. When the teeth were extracted my head swelled up to the size of a soccer ball and I was back on antibiotics again. All was well for a few weeks and then it all started again. GP prescribed a ton of antibiotics all with same results. On antibiotics I'd get better but only to have all the intestinal symptoms return at some point.


I've tried to tell Drs I thought I still had infection from this stupid root canal but they were skeptical as the teeth were gone there should be no problem right!? Even my new dentist (he won't touch a molar for a root canal with a ten foot pole BTW) said nope everything looked fine and that even if there was an infection it wouldn't make me sick as I was. My theory was that I was getting a snoot full of infection every time I swallowed as the hideous taste in my mouth was still there and again my stomach issues raged. Go on antibiotics and all those symptoms noticeably stopped and then return again.


Last week I was diagnosed with Vertigo and I explained everything to neurologist and he thinks "something" is pushing on a nerve around my middle or inner ear causing pressure headaches, vertigo and sinus pain and a whole lot of other weird stuff. He said only thing that will find this is MRI so before I do anything now I'm getting the MRI done. I don't think this thing is draining into my digestive system as bad hence the reason for the improvement in my intestinal issues (we're almost normal now) but I do believe its finally created an abscess in my head somewhere as the pressure is unbelievable which really really concerns me!

Within the last three weeks I've been diagnosed with Microscopic Colitis, Celiac, Gastritis and now the Vertigo. Dr tried to hit it with Prednisone for 5 days but now two weeks later the cruddy taste has returned and I feel horrible, the Vertigo has been pretty awful for over a month now. And yes I was searching for a Biologic Dentist but it seems we don't have one close by. Would have to travel 4-8 hours to get to one and it seems the medical system is now on my side.

Go ahead ask me if I'll ever have another root canal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the Reader's Digest version, there are a lot of other things I can say. I guess another quick mention is the cost, I lost a jaw full of really expensive dental work and the repair bills have been horrendous.

Crazy story. But I wish you good luck!
I have few root canals done in my life but never ever experienced any problems. I am 72 already so don't care much and my fistula looks better. I believe everyone is different maybe root canal is not for everyone. Anyways it is simple to extract every tooth but what then? Implants are so expensive not everyone can pay so much money...

You bet it's a crazy story but I am living it! I'm 56 years old, I have felt like crap in different extremes for the last 13 years. I hope with all my might that when the MRI happens on Monday that maybe.....just maybe this nightmare will end but I've said that a lot in the past and I don't have a lot of faith.

You are right though, everyone is different, every dentist is different, every Dr is different. If my dentist at the time had said sorry I don't do root canals on molar teeth because of the hidden roots and bends that they have - fair enough right you'd respect the fact that he has limitations and knows the dangers. But this guy was greedy and I'm finding he messed up a lot of people's teeth because of the almighty $$$$$. There is a website called Rate Your Dr.com, his reviews ..... not so good, but when I started seeing him and throughout the time the internet was not what it is now.

My new Dentist is vocal and says out loud "I do not have the ability to perform a safe root canal on a molar and as you know they can cause terrible issues". Now after all this my new Dentist says he does not recommend implants for me due to the severe infection issues I've had to deal with so I'm stuck with a plate.