Dr. Hall,
\nMy root canal was done over 10 years ago or so. It becomes very sore at times and sometimes the pain is unbearable. There is a little sore on the outside of the gum, with yellowish pus coming out only when it becomes sore. What do you think the issue is? I dont want a missing tooth. Do I have any other options?
\n– Shelley in Colorado<\/p>\n
Shelley, I’d recommend going to a root canal specialist and having follow-up treatment. They can either go back into the tooth and try to seal it that way. Or they can do root canal surgery<\/a> and work at the root end of the tooth with an apicoectomy<\/a>. The root canal specialist will probably emphasize how he or she can’t guarantee results, and the chances for success may only be 50-50, but they tend to be on the pessimistic side so they don’t raise your expectations too much. I’d still recommend having them try to fix it rather than giving up on the tooth.<\/p>\n I hope this is helpful.
\nYou have what is called a root canal failure<\/a>. Either the root canal treatment<\/a>, from the start, wasn’t fully sealed, or it’s possible there has been some mishap since then like a cracked\u00a0root<\/a>. But probably it wasn’t completely sealed at the beginning, and the root has become infected. It’s not that uncommon for this to happen. It happens to every dentist, and anywhere from 5% to 15% of root canal treatments fail.<\/p>\n
\nDr. Hall<\/p>\n\n
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