Have a tooth problem, went to dentist, they found something?

Originally posted by RightWingAvenger

Suppose it is cancer...Big deal just treat it like you would obesity...Change your diet and lifestyle it will heal.

Sorry but what rubbish. Millions of people die each year from cancer - people who changed their diet and lifestyle and who pursued every alternative remedy there is.
Oral cancer usually presents on the surface of the mouth but clearly they think there is a possibility and are just doing their job by checking it out. OP hopefully it isn't cancer but just in case it is - check out survival/cure rates of the different cancers. Cancers are not all the same. Neither are they all curable (who was the idiot who said that?). It depends what type of cancer and at what stage it is caught.

Anyway op, it's easy for us to say don't worry. Just try to remember - it may well be nothing and even if it is the big C, it doesn't have to be the end of the world. Keep us posted.

I agree with an above poster on the abscess myself. Ive had one before which happened at the root like yours and had to have to molars removed because of it. Luckily they were my first set so I still have them all today. The two that abscessed were in awful shape needed to be removed to prevent infection from going into my jaw bone, which can really damage the bone. It can be dangerous if left too long so definitely get it worked on asap and take antibiotics until you can get it out.

Dentists can be very expensive, even living in Canada our dentist bills always exceed a medical bill, the antibiotics were much cheaper then the removal of two molars. I kept my fingers crossed for all my wisdom teeth two and hoped that they all fit, and they did! My poor dentist didn't have a chance to gouge me that time

I don't know what it is and I'm not going to hazard a guess. But one thing for sure is that if it was an abscess, your Dentist would know that. This is Dentistry 101...

From my own experience, abscesses show up as dark areas in x-rays. If you Google it you will see this. That to me looks white, so that would suggest something solid. Not liquid!

I suggest you get that appointment with the Oral Surgeon and get it checked out!

Condensing osteitis, described by Partsch around 1910. Usually benigne.
See this: "http://www.zhub.com/pathology/listings/58.html".
P.S. This time I DID check with a real dentist

reply to post by mydarlia


It seems to be an abscess. Google Abscess x-ray and look at the pics. They are similar. If it has some infection in it, who knows. More likely the pus from white blood cells, dead tissue, and bacteria. What are your risk factors? The vast majority of gum cancer comes from smoking. Other factors are contact with human HPV. If you can eliminate these two, your odds are greatly increased for a simple infection.

I wish you well. It's probably nothing more than infection. I'm not a dentist.

reply to post by mydarlia


It just looks like a really bad infection. This may require 500mg Antibiotics (Amoxicillin) and surgery to remove the tooth.

Dont be scared of seeing a cancer specialist it will only be because he/ she is the best i their respective field.

Well, I can not say what exactly your situation is... but I do know someone something like this happened to before. My mother went to the dentist for a wisdom tooth that was bothering her. They took x-rays and "saw something strange". The dentist decided to remove the tooth right then and there. When he finally got it out it was not one tooth. It was two teeth fused together somehow by the roots. One was growing the normal way and one was growing horizontally under the gum.
He even asked if he could keep it because he had not seen something like that before and wanted to show his friends. lol
Whatever it is, good luck and I hope it does not hurt too much.

reply to post by mydarlia

Hi mydarlia,

Interesting x-ray. Sorry that it's painful, but it does look like an absess. I had a strange one myself when I was about 10 years old. A food particle wedged itself in the gum just behind one of my upper front teeth--and it worked itself into the ridges of my oral cavity (the bumpy places you can feel with the tongue before you get to the roof of the mouth). It was quite painful and very hard to the touch. My dentist referred me to an oral surgeon who removed it. I think what he removed went down in some dental journal; surgeon said he'd never seen anything like it before. Calcium had formed around the food particle making it almost like a pearl! He showed it to me afterwards and it did look like a pearl (not like the round oyster pearls worn in necklaces, but more like a fresh water pearl).

I've had two absesses later in life, but they were normal, run-of-the-mill absesses, down at the root of the teeth like the one in your x-ray. With each of them, as soon as the tooth was pulled and the absess removed, the pain relief was instant--felt so good, I asked the dentist if he could "do it again," lol.

Good luck with yours; hoped this help alleviate some fear!

~Smile

This is going to sound crazy but I think it is worth trying before you lose that tooth forever, I've done it myself so it isn't a theory anymore and it actually worked.
Purchase a large bottle of Listerine or generic store brand mouth wash, use the cap for a dose cup. Three times daily swish (is that even a word?) the mouthwash around in your mouth for a full 30 second, then spit it out. If you have an abscess it's gonna hurt the first few times you do it, depending on your pain threshold it might hurt a lot.
This should kill the infection within three days although sometimes it comes back in which case you just start the process over again.
Enjoy.

Well, considering they are sending you to an oral surgeon to investigate cancer, I am going to go out on a limb and trust the opinion of your dentist...Looks like a tumor.

They just want to make sure it is not cancerous....


Could be just an abscess, if it is hurting. They will find out.

Thank you guys, I admit I am terrified...but cannot see dr until Dec 2nd...and yes it hurts..I touch tooth and want to jump up in pain.

Definitely looks like an abscess. I have seen a few x-rays that looked like that, and have had an abscess myself. Very painful, swelling, hot feeling and nothing seems to ease the pain
Hope you get it sorted soon

reply to post by mydarlia


Yeah a cavity is how it starts and an infected root can make you wish you hadn't had teeth lol. Gargle salt water, swish it around good until you can get to the dentist. Try a topical gel that can numb around the gum and tooth to help the pain, and an IB profen kinda helps with that to. Good luck, hope you get to december 2nd quickly with as little pain possible.

Originally posted by mydarlia
Thank you guys, I admit I am terrified...but cannot see dr until Dec 2nd...and yes it hurts..I touch tooth and want to jump up in pain.

Nothing to be worried about at all. It's a cyst and most likely there for a long time, probably some more in the area if they looked close enough. Get it removed equals in and out, next day you wont even know they did surgery. Had them myself about six years ago or so.

Looking at that x-ray again, if they pulled that tooth white stuff in that sac will come out and the dentist will suck it out. They will send you to a surgeon though but not really necessary.

First link in google search:

www.simplestepsdental.com...==/st.32219/t.25017/pr.3.html

reply to post by mydarlia


Mydarlia, Please don't seek medical advice from any internet message board, especially ATS.

I understand you are scared to death, and rightfully so.

Fortunately, we live in a time where medicine can be relied on to identify, treat and cure these types of health threats.

Go to your appointment on the 2nd and listen to what the doctor says!

Good luck and I will keep you in my thoughts.

As for anyone handing out unskilled advice on this matter, please think twice in the future.

A medical professional would never offer an opinion over an internet message board on a subject like this.

Further more, given the nature of ATS, somebody might take you seriously and disregard the medical treatment recommendations of the oncologist, remember Steve Jobs?

Once again OP, good luck but you are sure to be in good hands.

Look familiar?

www.ehow.com...

I am not a dentist but had virtually the same thing show up on my x-ray. It turned out to be a twofold problem. First there was a cyst under the tooth root and secondly some bone had grew in the same place. Your x-ray looks almost identical to mine. The tooth was extracted, the cyst removed and tested, (just a cyst, no problem) and the bone had to be ground down a little. I also had a piece of bone grow through the roof of my mouth some years later that also had to be grinded off. My father had the same thing too so maybe some genetics were involved. Anyway I truly hope all goes well for you but just wanted to say how I had a very parallel experience and all was well in the end. That is apart from my blood pressure that the damn dentist put me through the worrying lol.

Ok, first thing first, you are being looked after and they will take care of the problem no matter what it is. I had a white area on my gum that had to be biopsied and it came out negative and I was fine. Now, years later I find I have breast cancer. LOL That is being taken care of and I am doing wonderfully and will survive.

cancer is such a terrifying thing that we all dread and fear. Now that I have it, I see it isn't a death sentence. One day at a time honey. Please if you would like to send a private message and talk, I am here for you. The main point here is that they found the problem and will treat it. HUGS!!!

Originally posted by Malcher
Look familiar?

www.ehow.com...

I'm going with Malcher on this one. Don't let your dentist get you for "scare" money. Before you have anything extreme done, get a second opinion. I always hate it when a doctor says "I've never seen anything like this..." because that means they don't know what it is nor how to treat it. Which means you could be in for some big expenses and guinea pig experiments. I always stress to get a second opinion because another dentist/doctor might know exactly what it is. Sure it might cost extra but an exam doesn't cost as much as the possible "trial and error" you might receive from your current dentist.

I was told i likely had cancer once.

Turns out it was Sarcoidosis of the lymph nodes
What they were seeing in my lymph nodes were Sarcoidosis Granulomas.