swollen cheek, sensitive fiverish ear (root canal related?)

[Vyv]

Hi About 5 years ago my tooth filling popped out so I had it replaced. At the time there was no pain but some swelling. But within a month my tooth started feeling weird. Not painful, but there was a discomfort and "pressure" on the left side of my face (cheek, jaw & below). I went to see a different dentist and they replaced the filling and told me that my first dentist didnt remove what was left of the old filling that time because it was placed too deep. My new dentist removed it and fixed the tooth. But the swelling got worse. Not only that, whole left side of my face would feel feverish (but when i touched my cheek it didnt feel hot). This feeling would come and go.

But eventually it got worse and I went to see my dentist again. (this was about 1,5 year ago) They replaced my filling one more time before suggesting a root canal operation. The dentist said there was alot of blood in the root when she removed the old filling and gave me a temporary one before the final root canal appointment.

Now my tooth is all fixed up and my cheek still swollen. My ear feels like it's on fire and there's that pressure in my jaw again. Sometimes I get some sudden and sharp pain when I eat something too hot or too cold, but this doesnt happen often. I avoid chewing food with my left teeth for this reason.

A few years ago (before my tooth issue)  I let a friend of mine make a hole with a needle- (yes I know it's stupid) and the ear swelled like crazy but then the swelling went away- without ever being treated. I wonder if this could somehow have caused cheek swelling later on?

There's another tooth (on left side) that bleeds abit when I floss and smells bad. It doesnt hurt though.

As you can see I'm starting to think that something else could be the issue and not really the RC tooth, because it never hurt before root canal op.

Could you please suggest what to do next, I'm desperate- is there anything else I should think of before removing the tooth? Thanks

[Vyv]

thanks again for your reply! yes i will definitely have to see my dentist again- i just wanted to know in advance what else could be the problem.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

They may need to redo the root canal and see what's going on with your tooth.  It may be possible that they couldn't access the other two canals and now its giving you  trouble.

[Vyv]

"Is the root  canal finished?  If so, when was it completed?  Are you on any antibiotics?  It may be an infection and I'm wondering if it'll just take some time to heal or if it was done months ago and hasn't resolved, in which case there may be a need to remove the tooth or re-do the root canal."

Thanks for your quick reply.  Yes, the root canal is finished (sometime in February this year) I'm not on antibiotics. I'm starting to think that it didnt heal properly. Also, if I recall correctly my dentist told me I had only 2 instead of usual 4 canals in that tooth, and she found that complicated for some reason. :/

One more thing I forgot to tell is that I had my wisdom tooth removed about 2 months ago. It doesn't hurt though, there were no complications there.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Is the root  canal finished?  If so, when was it completed?  Are you on any antibiotics?  It may be an infection and I'm wondering if it'll just take some time to heal or if it was done months ago and hasn't resolved, in which case there may be a need to remove the tooth or re-do the root canal.

[Vyv]

I forgot to mention that I had my ears (inside) checked recently my doctor says they are fine.

[Vyv]

i didnt explain it properly- if it wasnt clear- a friend of mine made a hole in my ear for an earring.  :) Excuse my poor language skills, english is not my first language.