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Root canals and mercury fillings

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 4/30/2015 3:04 PM (GMT 0)
I've been hearing more and more about how root canals and mercury fillings can cause or aggravate our fibromyalgia symptoms.

I've always wondered if the root canal I had fifteen years ago was the cause or contributed to my fibromyalgia.

Fast forward to the present. A couple months ago my new dentist took a close look at my dental X-rays and told me it looked like I had an active infection under the tooth that had a root canal. That surprised me, I didn't have any symptoms like pain in the area or swelling. He encouraged me to get it checked out by an endodontist which I did.

This endodontist charged me one fee at the onset which includes all the X-rays and I have my fifth appointment coming up in 5 weeks. The active infection spread to the bone below my tooth. She thinks this will be my final appointment.

I wonder if the neck pain, the sharp nerve pains in that side of my head, and my headaches could have been caused or aggravated by this infection? It would be nice if my fibro symptoms improved overall.
Posted 4/30/2015 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Almost Medfree:

This is a very good question. I have had 2 root canals. Dentists and Endodontists always sway in favor of saving a tooth. The first tooth that had a problems was where my regular Dentist exposed a nerve doing a routine filling. The pain let up and I thought I was OK. It was a couple years after that I began to get severe tooth pain. I need emergency work. My Dentist cleaned it up but I had to go to an Endodontist. I was put on an antibiotic. Maybe a year later I went back to the Endodontist as I had pain and thought it was the same tooth. It ended up being the tooth beside it. Another root canal was done.

I continue to see my Dentist regularly for cleaning. He does regular x-rays. I have continue to have jaw pain. I saw another Dentist at a Hospital. She said the jaw pain is from Neuralgia.

Someone on a forum suggest that any facial pain after a root canal should be investigated. The procedure may not have killed the infection. My Nurse Practitioner said that my Dentist would be watching things in x-rays. I saw an Orthodontist also many years ago. I really needed braces. The Orthodontist said they don't like to put people who are in pain already in additional pain. So I just left it as is. I am 61 and don't want braces. I take care of my teeth but there is overcrowding and my front tooth protrudes some. It might fall out one day. I actually asked my Dentist if pulling out all my teeth and getting dentures would stop some pain. He said they would not do that to me. I have read that doing something like that would not necessarily stop pain.

I, too, have daily chronic headaches.

Infections can be a cause of Fibromyalgia and can cause flare ups.

I hope you get some improvement with your symptoms.

Loring

Osteoarthritis in Multiple Joints, Fibromyalgia, Neuralgia, Chronic Daily Headaches, I.B., Hard of Hearing...
Posted 4/30/2015 6:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Almost Medfree:

This is a very good question. I have had 2 root canals. Dentists and Endodontists always sway in favor of saving a tooth. The first tooth that had a problem was where my regular Dentist exposed a nerve doing a routine filling. The pain let up and I thought I was OK. It was a couple years after that I began to get severe tooth pain. I needed emergency work. My Dentist cleaned it up but I had to go to an Endodontist. I was put on an antibiotic. Maybe a year later I went back to the Endodontist as I had pain and thought it was the same tooth. It ended up being the tooth beside it. Another root canal was done.

I continue to see my Dentist regularly for cleaning. He does regular x-rays. I now jaw pain. I saw another Dentist at a Hospital. She said the jaw pain is from Neuralgia.

Someone on a forum suggested that any facial pain after a root canal should be investigated. The procedure may not have killed the infection. My Nurse Practitioner said that my Dentist would be watching things in x-rays. I saw an Orthodontist also many years ago. I really needed braces. The Orthodontist said they don't like to put people who are in pain already in additional pain. So I just left it as is. I am 61 and don't want braces. I take care of my teeth but there is overcrowding and my front tooth protrudes some. It might fall out one day. I actually asked my Dentist if pulling out all my teeth and getting dentures would stop some pain. He said they would not do that to me. I have read that doing something like that would not necessarily stop pain.

I, too, have daily chronic headaches.

Infections can be a cause of Fibromyalgia and can cause flare ups.

I hope you get some improvement with your symptoms.

Loring

Osteoarthritis in Multiple Joints, Fibromyalgia, Neuralgia, Chronic Daily Headaches, I.B., Hard of Hearing...
Posted 4/30/2015 6:55 PM (GMT 0)
No root canals here or metal fillings. I do have a gold tooth though.
Posted 4/30/2015 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
You're lucky, couchtater. You must have very good teeth.

Loring, I've had a couple different dentists between the time of this most recent one and the dentist I had who suggested that I have a root canal fifteen years ago. Maybe you should consider seeing a holistic dentist? My new dentist isn't holistic but I'm so very thankful that he noticed the details--that he noticed the infection.
Posted 5/1/2015 3:50 AM (GMT 0)
Oh, my teeth were bad. I've got the ceramic fillings in twelve teeth. I had Gerd real bad and it caused several cavities. Had Gerd surgery and teeth fixed several years ago.
Posted 5/2/2015 10:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Couchtater, thanks for letting me know. I too have been told that my teeth aren't in the greatest shape due to gerd. So I do the best that I can with my diet.

Thanks, Rockon, for all the above information. You sound very knowledgeable. I had one mercury filling in my mouth removed recently by a dentist who had the needed equipment and the know how to safely remove my old filling.

My endodontist seems to be doing a good job taking care of my root canal. She is using equipment like I have never seen before. But when I've asked her about how the active infection might have been contributing to my health problems, she's all denial about that subject.

It's all very interesting. I'm so glad that I had it all taken care of. When I think back to my previous dentists removing my old fillings, they were more than likely mercury.

I sometimes wonder if removing the tooth with the root canal, taking care of the infection, and having a post put in and an implant would have been the way to go. But I've been sensitive to certain metals for years, and I did not relish the thought of a piece of metal being permanently placed in my mouth.

Thanks again!
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