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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

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What Is The Cause Of Facial And Ear Numbness Post Cracking The Root Canal Cap ?

Hi, myname is christina. ihave had a tooth ,rootcanel done several years ago, A year ago it broke, i couldnt afford the dentist ( the check up cost 197 dollars..for 10 minutes make another appointment.. ) two days ago my right ear started to go numb and now my ride side of my face is numb/tingly. i HAVE made an appointment with the dentis ( i been saving up) andmy apponintment is in TWO days . This morning my face was o.k but ,now its numb again.my Question is. should i wait till thursday ( today is tuesday - adelaide time). also have i done some premanent damage?...... the numb ness has spread .slow ly across my face.... and my ear feels od best wishes worried christina S.A Adelaide
Tue, 22 May 2012
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Dentist, Implantology 's  Response
Hello Christina,
Greetings from India, As I understand you got a root canal done several years ago and the tooth fractured a year ago and now you are having some indifferent sensation on the right side of face.
well whether this is related to your tooth is very difficult to to say without a proper examination. you have not mentioned whether this tooth is present on the right side or not? so can not correlate.
but numbness isnt a good sign and it requires immediate attention so you are advised to immediately see a dentist.
Take Care
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Dentist Dr. Amol Gite's  Response
hi,
numbness means there is some encroachment on the nerve which will have to be diagnosed by clinical examination as well as Xrays. if it is due to infection, the antibiotics provided by dentist will have a major role to play along with the removal of the cause of infection (may be the broken tooth in this case). Nerve damage nature depends on the severity of encroachment. if minimal damage has occurred nerve can regenerate or be back to normal in few weeks to may be a month. Any case seeing a dentist on urgent basis is recommended
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1 Doctor agrees with this answer

Dentist Dr. Ankit Aggarwal's  Response
hi christina
Numbness as described by you can either be due to infection or due to some other nerve related cause. again the infection here may be due to some other infected tooth in your mouth or due to reinfection in your RCT treated tooth which though rare can happen. if infection is the cause of numbness, it can be treated successfully by antibiotics ( amoxycillin 500mg three times a day ). if its not due to infection, it can be either due to some nerve injury or nerve compression due to some other disease for which you have to get yourself clinically examined. but dont worry, as most of the diseases today have cure availaible. so just get yourself clinical examined in case your numbness dont go away with antibiotics.

wishing you speedy recovery
with best regards
Dr Ankit
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Dentist Dr. Gunjan Gupta's  Response
hi christina,
i read your problem,this numbness may be due to infection or nerve related............
you did not mention root canal treated tooth is situated on the same side or not...........
any ways numbness is not a good sign,so i will suggest you please go to your dentist as soon as possible.............
and after complete examination follow all the instructions properly...........
nothing to get worried,but it is not possible to give you a right advice without proper examination..........
take care
Dr.Gunjan Gupta
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Dentist Dr. Deepali Upadhyaya's  Response
hi Christina,

your problem as per your history of root canal treatment and later breaking up of that tooth are related to the numbness. you got severe infection below the broken tooth and you should see your dentist immediately and undergo for extraction/removal of that tooth. kindly do not wait.

take care



dr deepali, dental surgeon, lucknow
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Dentist Dr. Vishal Jain's  Response
Hi christina,

as you had mentioned just numbness as a feature, you do not have any pain, swelling, discharge, etc. it is very difficult to correlate just numbness with the dental problem.

But i suggest you o visit your dentist for proper diagnosis and treatment if it is because of dental problem.


Thanks,
Dr. Vishal Jain.
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Dentist Dr. Latif's  Response
hi ,
this is result of broken down root of the root treated tooth. there seems to be periapical infection in this area, and you need not to worry about this , if you have an appointment with the dentist then this tooth will be extracted. you do warm saline gargles, and do proper tooth brush . regards.
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Dentist Dr. Varun Mishra's  Response
hello christina and welcome to HCM,
Its good, that you managed an appointment with the dentist. But be careful to visit him surely on the arranged time as teeth aches use to spread till the face above and to the neck below.
Don't worry, as the treatment comes to start, you will start getting relief. broken tooth is the main cause of it or if the tooth is out of the jaw, then might be some broken pieces are creating the pain.
So, don't delay and get the treatment.

Thank you
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What Is The Cause Of Facial And Ear Numbness Post Cracking The Root Canal Cap ?

Hello Christina, Greetings from India, As I understand you got a root canal done several years ago and the tooth fractured a year ago and now you are having some indifferent sensation on the right side of face. well whether this is related to your tooth is very difficult to to say without a proper examination. you have not mentioned whether this tooth is present on the right side or not? so can not correlate. but numbness isnt a good sign and it requires immediate attention so you are advised to immediately see a dentist. Take Care