Dental bone graft, scared out of my mind URGENT

N

Nomad

Guest
Long story here. I'm now afraid of dentists...never was before.
I had an onlay fall off and my original dentist messed up...too long of a story to go into. There was trauma and pain. I decided to do a root canal and cut my losses. AFter the root canal, my ear started to hurt and I got a bump near the tooth. The endodontist office said that meant the tooth was bad and needed to come out. There was also a bad crack in the tooth..,another long story.

I went to a new dentist. He pulled the tooth, but also did a bone graft. He said this would prevent future problems like the teeth shifting and I could put an implant in later easier if I want or not. This is the far back right molar...I didn't want to put in an implant.

The day after the extraction and graft, I developed a fever. I was already on antibiotics. He changed them. Didn't help. Changed them again. Didn't help. Then, was put on two together...didn't help. Then I got sickly...and my regular doctor told me to consider getting off of them after taking two CBCs and didn't show infection. I now still have a low grade fever. It's been 15 days. I'm scared. It's the same fever on or off antibiotics.

I went to an ORal Surgeon for a second opinion. He said not to worry until it has been one month post op. He said the dental site looked good and there was no sign of infection in my mouth. He said to rest and gargle with salt water.

I'm very very upset. My blood pressure went through the roof and my medicaiton had to be doubled.

My regular doctor put me through the ringer with tests, all coming up ok. I am waiting for one more huge one that I took at the hospital...might be back tomorrow. I have had bouts of lupus, but oddly, right now it is in remission.

Has anyone been through anything like this or heard of anything like this?

HELP! I'm truly very frightened. My fevers are .99 to 100...not horrible...but after 15 days, I'm REALLY tired and getting weaker.
Thanks.
 
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DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Nomad--

(((Hugs)))

First - calm, deep breaths.

I know that the fevers do not feel good - but it is not necessarily a sign of a life-threatening infection. It sounds like your mouth looks OK. Are you having pain, swelling or any other sign of infection? If not - you may just be taking a while to "bounce back".

It happens to me, too. The infection will be over (such as last year when I had strep throat) and yet I continue to burn these low-grade fevers for several weeks.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Ok, first things first, it is highly unlikely that it is the bone graft or extraction. Also, if there is no sign of infection in your mouth and that's from the oral surgeon, relax - it isn't your mouth. (I've had so much dental work and so many abscesses... Trust me here.)

A fever is actually a good thing, it is your body fighting off anything nasty. What likely happened is that the trauma caused the fever - NOT an infection. I've had this happen a lot. (Now that root canal, where your ear started to hurt? Was it upper or lower? Upper could have nicked a nerve, causing the body to overreact as if it were infected. The bump was probably called a "granuloma" if it was hard, if it was soft it was likely a pocket of pus from, you guessed it, a bad tooth that needed extraction.)

If you're not showing infection and your doctor took you off the antibiotics, you're probably fine there. I have phantom tooth pain occasionally, where I've had some extracted. Sometimes it's quite intense. And the last extraction was over a year ago...

Also, getting sick - well, you were stressed, in some pain, and it is entirely possible you picked up a cold, which would make you feel WORSE than a normal cold. And not all colds are sinus-only... But... They're viruses, meaning those antibiotics are pointless.

If you can - relax. ONLY if your extraction site is red, puffy, and oozing should you worry... :hugs:
 
N

Nomad

Guest
It is the bottom right molar...right before the wisdom tooth (which was removed a long time ago).

The actual area looks ok....no redness or anything. I still have stiches and need to get them out soon.

The pain is in my ear (same side). The fever started the day after the extraction/bone graft. It is the same fever now for 15 days.

So, you really think this is simply my body taking a very very very long time to heal? The Oral Surgeon said that although it is uncommon, nflammaton can cause a low grade fever, etc.

DaisyFace/Stepto2/Anyone...have you ever had anything like this happen to you????? So concerned here. The dentist said this has NEVER happened to him before.

Sadly, I was under mega stress during the procedure....you may have guessed...something difficult child did that was out of this world hideous and life changing (not in a good way). Sigh.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Day after surgery?
I'm guessing you've got a mild ear infection.
Triggered by the dental work, maybe - mouth and ear are connected by tiny tubes.
Or just by chance triggered by stress at the same time.
 
N

Nomad

Guest
Thanks Insane. Forgot to mention, I was examined by an ENT 2x for an ear infection and he said he doesn't see anything.
:hangin:
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Inflammation is pretty much: IN-FLAME-ation. If you ever jam your finger and it swells up, it gets hot from all the blood rushing to the site to do repairs... But it's not infected. Just a localized fever.

I've had lots of odd stuff. I had a cold, turned into sinusitis and... BAM, abscess and subsequent root canal. Ear infection after an abscessed tooth... Yeah. My dentist was training another dentist and brought him in to look at MY mouth... Because I'm NOT NORMAL.

So... It most definitely could be.

Also, stress lowers your immunity, and also makes healing take longer...
 
N

Nomad

Guest
Makes sense. Thank you :)
The fever this long is making me tired and tonight the ear pain is particularly bad. Warm heat seems to help a little, but as soon as I take the warm wet washcloth away, it hurts a lot again. I've been nearly bedridden for 15 days and I'm super tired and concerned. Also, it is creepy when the dentist is clueless as to what is going on. Tomorrow I see my regularly doctor again for the results of the last bit of blood work...but the great majority of it is back as of today and all looks fine. This has been VERY difficult.
 

flutterby

Fly away!
Low grade fevers are also common in lupus and even though you're in remission right now stress to the body can cause symptoms and/or a flare.

ETA: If it is the ear that is hurting, I would see an ENT for an opinion.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I'm with the others.
Surgery can cause a very low fever. Think about it; even though it's done to fix something, it's got to chop a hole somewhere, and your body, being intelligent with-o you having to tell it what to do, is going to react.
Yes, you could have an ear infection. That area is very close to the ear.
You are doing all the right tests.
If they come out clean, I would take a break, take a nap with-a compress, and try to relax.
Maybe even get an upper body massage to drain the lymph nodes around your neck so you can help things along a bit.

Feel better soon!
P.S. I've had soft tissue grafting done twice.
 
N

Nomad

Guest
Thanks guys. I have thought of a massage or acupuncture to possibly help with the pain. Last night was very tough.
I've seen the ENT two times. He gave me a through exam, including a scope down my throat. He is sure I don't have an ear infection or any ENT related problem at all. My lymph nodes have been checked by the dentist, the ENT and my regular doctor and are fine.
Everyone is puzzeled.
I went to an Oral Surgeon for a second opinion and he is the only one that said that he thinks I'll be much better in two weeks. He thinks inflammation alone can cause a low grade fever and the ear pain.
This has been a horrible experience.
Has anyone else had a bad or weird experience after a dental bone graft???? The dentist has offered to remove it, if I want.
Anyone here ever been a dental assistant, etc?
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Nomad, I have no experiences or wisdom to share, just wanted you to know I read your post and am sending prayers for a quick recovery..................hugs...................
 
N

Nomad

Guest
Just got my blood work back and I've been diagnosis'd with Sjorgerns Syndrome (don't know how to spell it exactly). :groan:Don't know if this has anything to do with it. Going on three weeks now with the fever after the dental surgery. :hangin:
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
So, does this mean your symptoms may have nothing to do with the dental surgery but are caused by this syndrome? Are you on medication for it? How are you feeling? (((HUGS))))
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Nomad, I'm so sorry you had to face such an ordeal. I hope your pain and fever subside.

Sjogren's Syndrome can occur as a result of having lupus, and onset in women is often around "menopausal age". Symptoms include dry mouth, dry eyes, and problems with the body's mucous membranes. The dry mouth can cause dental issues, and can exacerbate existing dental problems, which might explain why you had such a terrible time with the root canal etc.

There are treatments for the symptoms (eye drops, mouth rinse, flouride treatments to help prevent cavity development, and other items). Now that you have a diagnosis, it might be worth a chat with your doctor to see what symptoms can be addressed immediately to make you feel better, and a reasonable plan for long-term care.
 
N

Nomad

Guest
I'm not feeling well in general because of the low grade fevers. I can only do one thing a day, because I get over heated and over tired.
The dentist removed my stiches on Friday and I told him about the S. Syndrome and he seemed worried, but offered no thoughts.
He had his assistant take copious notes of our conversation...more worried perhaps about "other things," than my good health.
I can't find much about this on line, but did see that it is almost always inappropriate to put in a graft immediately after an extraction. The extraction was done due to suspected infection and no time was give to allow it to heal.
My regular doctor took 16 (all total) vials of blood. I took blood cultures and the preliminary report looks ok.
Does anyone know if blood work shows no infection, if you could still have an infection in your mouth?
I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I have been shocked at the unprofessionalism and greed by the dental profession. I have had one problem after another by dentists over the last year.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I have been shocked at the unprofessionalism and greed by the dental profession. I have had one problem after another by dentists over the last year.​



Read more: http://www.conductdisorders.com/for...cared-out-my-mind-urgent-50413/#ixzz27GydHEwf
I hear ya - you're not offending me! We (finally) have a fairly-trustworthy set-up here for dental, but... we've had real problems in the past, and some dentist-created issues from 10+ years ago are just getting corrected now. There ARE good ones out there. There just isn't any consistently good way to find them, because even recommendations from friends may not filter correctly if our friends don't have much for dental issues. It's the complex issues that really show up how good (or not) a dentist is.
 
N

Nomad

Guest
I hope this link works...even though it is from financial pages, it is called "Secrets your dentist doesn't want you to know..." somet things like how they might not have the latest equipment (like digital xrays), etc. I thought it was VERY interesting. Be very careful when chosing your dentist.
For those so inclined, please keep good thoughts for me and/or prayers this next week or two.
Thank you.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08...doesnt-want-you-to-know/?a_dgi=aolshare_email
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Sweetie, there are awesome dentists (I'd share mine with you if I could), and there are horrid ones. Just like other doctors.

If you have an infection in your mouth, it will show up on blood work. It's part of your circulatory system.

:hugs:
 
N

Nomad

Guest
A few things are bothering me...no one knows what's wrong and that two dental assistants have told me that it is inappropriate to put in a graft immediatley after an extraction.
The other thing thing is that when I was a child, a young man down the block died after getting his teeth cleaned, and no one ever figured out what was wrong.
A few years ago, my neighbor (mid 40s), got some dental work, and the next day had a low grade fever. As far as I know, they never got to the bottom of it. A week or so later, she had a major heart attack and a few weeks after that, she had a major stroke. A few weeks after that, she passed away.
Ok, true, these are really odd things to have happened. But it stuck in my mind...although I have never had any personal problems until this last year and this has been harrowing.
I didn't post it, but I had NO/NADA/ZERO problems with this tooth, but my original dentist absolutely did mess up and this is what caused trauma to the tooth and left me needing a root canal. Then, the rc specialist (endodontist) in the middle of the procedure announed I had a crack in the tooth. But that is all he said. Later, I found out he left an open canal in the tooth, but never told me this. He did write in my chart that the crack was in the canal and that is why he left it open. I spent almost $3,000 for this procedure that was totall useless to me, because with the open canal and crack, I still had an infection. My current dentist...overcharges and should not have done the graft immediately after pulling the tooth. The more I research, the more information I discover about things not done exactly right, or dentists leaving their patients in the dark or worse, in trouble and then not offering to recitify the situation. So, I see now it is best (like all things) to be as informed as possible and to get recommendations ALWAYS. This article is very good. I saw a dentist that I really liked, but she is something like 8 years behind the times and doesn't have digital xrays. She even admitted to me that she just purchased the equipment very recently because she thinks in about two years, she will be required to have it. The film equipment exposes patients to excess radiation and does not provide nearly as good of a result. When I asked her when her staff might have the digitial xray equipment up and running, she was insulted. She is many many years behind the times and it was a fair question. I even said...could I have a rough idea? It was simply because I wanted her as my dentist, but wanted to wait until she was up and running with the current equipment. Oh well. Again, best to do good research (esp. with medical care) and get recommendations!!!!! Step2....I agree, good ones and bad ones, but for some odd/sad reasons, I've had great trouble finding good ones of late in my area.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/...aolshare_email
 
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