Questions about tooth infection and root canals

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Nov 15, 2019
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Hello All,

I recently had a follow up for a root canal done on tooth 14. The root canal was done late July/ Early August. A few days prior to the follow up appointment, the teeth around tooth 14 had throbbing pain. Sometimes the pain would be resulting of biting down, other times it seemed to just hurt. The throbbing pain would come and go. There was minor sensitivity to heat/cold. The morning of the followup appointment, I woke up and the upper left side of my mouth/jaw was swollen. Near the bottom left of the nose, toward the left (toward the left ear), not a great distance maybe 3-4cms. You could see that area was swollen.

My luck was that it happened the day of the follow up appointment. I visited the endodontist and explained the situation. He tapped teeth, put hot/cold instrument on the gum line, etc. I had a regular x-ray taken. He determined that a 3D xray (CT scan?) was needed. That was done in his office and he determined that tooth 15 needs a root canal. Antibiotic (Amoxicillin) was prescribed and an appointment was scheduled for root canal.

I was hoping someone could help me with some dental health questions I had:

1. Could the infection from tooth 14 spread to tooth 15? Is it easy to miss an infected root on xray? Would the infection have been spread sooner?

2.The antibiotic has been taken for roughly 3.5 days and the swelling is almost gone. There is no throbbing pain as earlier. However, when I press along the upper left quadrant of my mouth, there is minor pain. If I press upward from the left canine tooth, I can feel it's a little swollen still and has minor pain when pressed. Can I be confident that the correct tooth (tooth 15) is receiving the root canal?

3. I have been more diligent with promoting good oral hygiene habits. However, it seems that this infection is new, or was missed on prior exams. What else can I do besides brushing/flossing/mouthwash?

4. Can I assume that with the dental exam/xray and the swelling being almost eliminated with the antibiotic that there isn't a tumor in that area?


Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
 

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