Dr. Hall,
Is it possible for root canal packing to “leak” and infect a salivary gland? My daughter has had two unilateral salivary gland infections within 6 months. Hospital CT showed nothing and dental x-rays showed nothing. We have no other ideas on what could cause these recurrent infections. (She’s had two root canals with crowns done on her lower jaw above the infected gland.) Thank you!
– Jeff from Chicago
Jeff,
I guess it would be possible for infection from a tooth to spread to a salivary gland, but the tooth would have to be infected first. And a tooth with a root canal treatment would not be infected if it has healed properly. And if it hasn’t healed properly, it would show on the x-ray.
So the answer, in your case, would be no. Given what you say that the dental x-ray shows nothing, then, no, there is no root canal failure, and no infection of the tooth, so nothing that could spread to the salivary gland.
Dr. Hall
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
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