Dental implant inflammation: What should I do?
in Dentistry & Oral Hygiene ·
Hey everyone, I’m posting this on behalf of a friend who is dealing with some pretty gnarly dental issues. We’re wondering if anyone else has dealt with something similar. Thanks 🙂
Back in August, she started feeling this intense throbbing in her upper right side—specifically the premolar and molar area. It hurt like crazy whenever she bit down, and just standing still or walking would trigger this heavy pulsing sensation. She was popping 600mg Advil to manage it, which helped temporarily, but after a few hours, the throbbing would come roaring back. It got way worse with any physical activity, especially running. On top of that, her gums were super inflamed and bleeding everywhere. She went to a dentist who basically told her there was food trapped deep between the teeth where she couldn't reach it, creating pressure when she bit down. He claimed he didn't see any actual infection, though. He cleaned it out, and man, the next three days were pure torture. She honestly thought her brain was going to explode from the pain. After nine days of misery, it finally settled down. Then, everything was fine for three weeks—total silence—until now. Suddenly, that molar started hurting again when she bites. It lasted two days, and then on the third day, she woke up in the middle of the night with that familiar, rhythmic pulsing in her premolar. The pain is so sharp that she’s practically mumbling because she’s trying so hard not to let her teeth touch while she talks. It feels like she wants to grab a drill just to puncture something and relieve the pressure 🥴. This latest bout lasted six days before she went back to the dentist. This time, the guy actually *did* see signs of an infection. He’s a younger dentist and had to go consult with his senior partners. They’re looking at the exact same X-ray from last time, but apparently, there was "no infection" before? Keep in mind, both these teeth are dead; they’ve already had root canals. Their big solution? Since the infection is sitting above the teeth, they say cleaning isn't an option. The only fix is to pull them both and go with implants. This round of pain lasted six days.
So, has anyone been through this? She really doesn't want to lose both teeth, and it’s not like she has $3,000 just lying around to drop on implants without thinking twice. She actually booked an appointment with a different dentist—not a private specialist this time, but a general practitioner at a local clinic—just to get a second opinion. It feels impossible that there’s absolutely nothing else that can be done. Interestingly, since she saw him yesterday (he didn't perform any procedures), the pain has actually vanished... which makes zero sense to me...
She actually had a similar situation with a tooth on the left side last August. That one was brutal for five days, then it never bothered her again, even a year later. Back then, the dentist (same practice, different doctor) gave her the same pitch: pull the tooth and the one next to it and get implants. She said she'd think about it, but since the pain stopped, she just moved on.
Right now, she’s using Parodontax toothpaste, a Curaprox brush, and interdental brushes. She’s also been using Gengigel on her gums, which calmed the inflammation and stopped the bleeding.
I'm just curious if anyone has faced this. At this rate, it feels like every time she has an infection, they’re going to tell her the same thing—that she has to pull everything. There has to be another way besides losing all her teeth 😩
Thanks a ton ��
Back in August, she started feeling this intense throbbing in her upper right side—specifically the premolar and molar area. It hurt like crazy whenever she bit down, and just standing still or walking would trigger this heavy pulsing sensation. She was popping 600mg Advil to manage it, which helped temporarily, but after a few hours, the throbbing would come roaring back. It got way worse with any physical activity, especially running. On top of that, her gums were super inflamed and bleeding everywhere. She went to a dentist who basically told her there was food trapped deep between the teeth where she couldn't reach it, creating pressure when she bit down. He claimed he didn't see any actual infection, though. He cleaned it out, and man, the next three days were pure torture. She honestly thought her brain was going to explode from the pain. After nine days of misery, it finally settled down. Then, everything was fine for three weeks—total silence—until now. Suddenly, that molar started hurting again when she bites. It lasted two days, and then on the third day, she woke up in the middle of the night with that familiar, rhythmic pulsing in her premolar. The pain is so sharp that she’s practically mumbling because she’s trying so hard not to let her teeth touch while she talks. It feels like she wants to grab a drill just to puncture something and relieve the pressure 🥴. This latest bout lasted six days before she went back to the dentist. This time, the guy actually *did* see signs of an infection. He’s a younger dentist and had to go consult with his senior partners. They’re looking at the exact same X-ray from last time, but apparently, there was "no infection" before? Keep in mind, both these teeth are dead; they’ve already had root canals. Their big solution? Since the infection is sitting above the teeth, they say cleaning isn't an option. The only fix is to pull them both and go with implants. This round of pain lasted six days.
So, has anyone been through this? She really doesn't want to lose both teeth, and it’s not like she has $3,000 just lying around to drop on implants without thinking twice. She actually booked an appointment with a different dentist—not a private specialist this time, but a general practitioner at a local clinic—just to get a second opinion. It feels impossible that there’s absolutely nothing else that can be done. Interestingly, since she saw him yesterday (he didn't perform any procedures), the pain has actually vanished... which makes zero sense to me...
She actually had a similar situation with a tooth on the left side last August. That one was brutal for five days, then it never bothered her again, even a year later. Back then, the dentist (same practice, different doctor) gave her the same pitch: pull the tooth and the one next to it and get implants. She said she'd think about it, but since the pain stopped, she just moved on.
Right now, she’s using Parodontax toothpaste, a Curaprox brush, and interdental brushes. She’s also been using Gengigel on her gums, which calmed the inflammation and stopped the bleeding.
I'm just curious if anyone has faced this. At this rate, it feels like every time she has an infection, they’re going to tell her the same thing—that she has to pull everything. There has to be another way besides losing all her teeth 😩
Thanks a ton ��