Post Root Canal Pain

[monkey007]

Hi
About 4 years ago i had a root canal performed on my upper right molar tooth.  3 and a 1/2 years later the root canaled tooth became infected (abscess) and my endodontist performed another root canal to make sure that all the canals had been "sterilized".  After the re-treat, the pain went away.  However, my root canaled tooth has become infected once again.  The problem is that right now i do not have access to any dental care since i am working on a very small island in the Caribbean.  I will be going back to the US in 2 months, so until then i was wondering if there is any temporary treatment i can use to relieve the pain of the infection (maybe an Antibiotic? If so will that antibiotic prevent a reinfection for atleast 2 months?) Do you think i will have to have my root canaled tooth extracted when i go back to the US, since this is the second time an infection has happened in this tooth even after a retreat?
Thanks

[Matthew Baron, D.M.D.]

If you're not allergic to penicillin, that is the best antibiotic for your situation.   As for when you get back, It's tough to tell without seeing you or an x-ray.  It may need  an apicoectomy or possibly an extraction.  Apicoectomy is surgical procedure to clean out infection from the root tips end of the tooth.  Good Luck.

[I-believe-n-u]

I work in the dental field and see things like this periodically.  If infection is present...ie a gum boil, swelling, fistula tract, ect...then an antibiotic will help.  You may also try taking anti-inflammatory pain med..like advil, etc...or have a pain med prescribed.  Most importantly please check with a dentist, doctor, etc... b/c you definitely need to address the tooth.  Remember you can always get a second opinion on the rct treatment.  Is the tooth crowned, broken, or does it still have a temp. filling in it?  Good luck
I-believe-n-u