Injections went smoothly and so apparently did the drilling and filing of the root canal. The next stage however is where the problems really started, during what I suspect was either a dissinfecting procedure with 2% sodium hydroxide or a sealing procedure (tubiseal) of the root apex I experienced an intense pain on the front left of a my lower jaw, it felt like someone had hit me, however the pain subsided quickly, but it left me shaken. I immediately informed the dentist who could not offer an explanation and continued the treatment.

After the session he informed me that the canal was not dry and bubling up which he suspected may be pulp and that he would be happier if it was left open and that I should return in a couple of days to complete the procedure. By the time I had got home the right side of my face was severely swollen and I had a crackling sensation under the skin. I was not unduely worried as I had been told to expect this.

On the 12/12/08 I returned, the dentist seemed happy with the state of the canal and proceeded to fill and seal with GP cones.

So far so good I thought,over the next five days the tooth settled and eventually became painless and the swelling went down by 90%. At this point it seemed like the procedure had been a complete success.

During the evening of the 19th my chin and lower lip started to tingle, by the morning of the 20th my chin and lower lip were completely numb and my upper lip was burning, at times my chin would burn, rather than being completly numb.

I began to become very worried and started my on line search, this is when I came across this fantastic site.
After many hours I had decided that my condition was due to damage or aggrevation of the inferior alveolar nerve, probably due to an overfill of GP or perhaps of sterilliser or sealer.

I noted that these materials are potentially toxic when in the nerve canal due to overfill. As a result I returned to my dentist and discussed my concerns, he did not seem that worried and thought that it would get better in time. I explained what I had discovered on the net, this seemed to worry him and within minutes I had a second opinion from another dentist at the practice, he thought that the only safe option was extraction. My dentist then changed his mind and said that the only safe option was to extract. I agreed and the tooth was extracted that evening. Once extracted the dentist threw the tooth immediately in the bin, I was surprised as I had asked to see the tooth once it had been pulled. I had to be very insistant and it took over 10 minutes for him to be able to find it in the bin, once he had found it he would not give it to me, but at this stage I noticed that part of the root had a silvery material on it. Before he would give it to me he insisted on cleaning it thoroughly. When I eventually got it the silvery material had been washed off, but there was a hole anf file marks straight through the toothabout 3mm under where the gum line would have been. I questiond him as to what this was, but he did not comment, he also refused to take an xray of the extraction site.

Within hours the numbness started to subside, being replaced, by tingling.

The next day I went to the doctors, I told him the story and that I wished to see an OS. He said this was not his field, but did phone and then fax the hospital, who never phoned back!

On the way out of the doctor in desperation I walked into another dentist across the road and asked them for help. They took pity on me and said that all the dentists that could see me straight away were too junior, but that one of the experienced senior dentists would see me the next morning.

In the morning I returned and told the new dentist my story, he at least understood what I was saying. I gave him the tooth and he told me that the hole was a perforation caused by a root canal file that had gone sideways instead of down, the root canal had then been refiled in the right direction, because there was a hole in the side of the tooth under the gum, when the steriliser and sealer were used they obviously leaked into the gum and down the side of the tooth, I expect the silvery material on the side of the tooth was some of the zinc sealer used.

He also took comprehensive xrays searching for filler or sealant in the nerve canal, thankfully he could find none.

Over the last 8 days since extraction my symptoms have reduced by 95% and I expect to make a full recovery.

I think that knowing what I know now, extraction was the right decision, who knows what would have happened if I had waited.

I would like to thank everyone who contributes to this site. I think it was the info here that let me act quickly and save myself.

My heart goes out to any of you suffering at the moment, you are in my thoughts and I hope you have a quick resolution to your problems -stay strong if you can

R

You may have a legal case because of the loss of your tooth and his concealment of the problem. The legal system isn't an easy journey.

Make sure it wasn't Sargenti Paste, aka N2, RC2W, RC2B, which contain formaldehyde. Formaldehyde damage does get more progressive over the first 7-10 days (atleast that is what the proponents say). Likely not, but worth a check.

www.WorstRootCanalEver.com