Root Infection - gone bad

by Paula
(Rockville Centre, NY)

A couple of years ago I developed a terrible infection in the root of the rear molar in my bottom jaw. The tooth was already capped as were the two molars in front of it. Months of treatment went by and as soon as we thought the infection was gone it reared its ugly head again. Finally, with the threat of the infection endangering the jaw bone itself the dentist recommended the only possible solution which was the extraction of all three teeth.


This meant that I wouldn't be able to chew properly on that side and would probably wind up with a jaw misalignment. So, despite my fears (and they were many) I agreed to the idea of extraction and dental implants. First the extractions (fortunately there was no need for the bone graft that we thought might be necessary due to the extent of the infection)then the implants and finally the restoration.

True the whole process took a long time, due to the waiting period between each step for healing, but unlike the similar period that I suffered through while trying to fight the resistant infection - I suffered NO pain during the dental implant procedure. The surgeries were painless due to the local anesthesia (even the extractions only hurt the following day, with 1 Advil solving that problem)and the procedures left no after effects.

Today I am 5 years after the completion of the work, crunching and chewing (even cracking stubborn pistachios - but don't tell my dentist). True - the best solution is maintaining your own teeth - but when you have no choice other than extraction - then you have no other choice than dental implants!