Hi Achy Mum,

Believe me there are dentist, and there are dentists. I would advise you to go to a dentist that understands how to remove root canals and clean the socket.

The problem now is you're going to have to find one that is willing to clean up after the one that didn't know what she was doing. (I am assuming that by what you're saying)

Before I was aware that there was a certain protocol for removing Root Canals, I had one removed just like you did and the socket wasn't cleaned. Six or 8 years later when I determined that my teeth my be the root of my problems, I had a cavatation test done which is the only way to tell if there is blood flow through the jaw bone.($1000) The way it was explained to me, it is similar to sonar. They use a machine and run a metal object on the outside of your jaw and at the same time run one in the same position on the inside. It measures density somehow and tells them where there is no longer blood flowing through that part of your jaw. The spot where this root canal was removed showed no blood flow.

They then have to cut open the gum and lay it back to finish what should have been done when the tooth was removed. The dentist said the jaw bone was like mush because it was infected with bacteria. He cleaned it out down to the good bone and sewed it back up.

At that time, I had a problem with my jaw clicking when I opened and closed my mouth. This was painful and caused pain from my ear down my neck to my shoulder. Most of this got better almost immediately. the rest got better when I had the rest of the metal and root canals taken out. Somehow this area was connected to the fibromyalgia in my shoulder And it all got better then. Also my sinuses healed and the Arthritis in my right hip left. The last of this work was concluded last June and I haven't had any problems since.

There is a nerve that runs along your jaw bone and the dentist made me sign a CYA document saying that this can be injured doing this work. He said the down side is if it's injured that your mouth could end up being numb. I hope this lady didn't injure the nerve.

That's why you need to see somebody qualified to do this work. It usually is more expensive, but it is worth it. They have special air cleaners that clean the air of any mercury dust, and take maybe 4 or 5 xrays to insure that they got all the fragments out etc. There approach is from the safety stand point, both yours and theirs.

I hope you find a solution. Nothing is worse than a bad tooth or a botched up removal.

The uk is terrible for dentists. I'm in the same position, i wish i read this board before i had my extraction. They just took the tooth out, gave it some suction and prodded it with a metal road and that was it.