Experiences w/ a Root Canal Go Wrong? Worried about my DD15...

I know you're a nurse. What do you mean when you say her behavior is concerning?

Friday evening/Saturday, she was acting not like herself AT ALL - on Saturday, I would have labeled her behavior as almost despondent. After she went to bed on Friday, I was crying because I was so worried about her.

But she has perked up yesterday (Sunday) & today. She's still not herself, but I do see improvement.

I'm a worrier - especially when it comes to my kids. And DH is always telling me to not to worry. This whole past week, he's been telling me to give the antibiotic a chance to work. But, today, after the dentist phoned in another prescription, he's worried too.
You said she acted very depressed. In the setting of what's going on, that's concerning because infection can spread (and someone who's got a systemic infection would act that way). I would favor and evaluation by an ER physician/specialist to see if she needs IV antibiotics or other supportive care, like fluids, pain medication, etc. Major pediatric ERs will have a dentist on call to consult.
 
I know you're a nurse. What do you mean when you say her behavior is concerning?

Friday evening/Saturday, she was acting not like herself AT ALL - on Saturday, I would have labeled her behavior as almost despondent. After she went to bed on Friday, I was crying because I was so worried about her.

But she has perked up yesterday (Sunday) & today. She's still not herself, but I do see improvement.

I'm a worrier - especially when it comes to my kids. And DH is always telling me to not to worry. This whole past week, he's been telling me to give the antibiotic a chance to work. But, today, after the dentist phoned in another prescription, he's worried too.
Dd18 had her wisdom teeth extracted last summer. She was pretty miserable, but that's tooth pain for you. I had. A dry socket with mine, and was so depressed (except for losing 15 pounds - liked that part). I'm not saying don't be concerned, but her behavior seems normal to me.
 
No this is not normal by any stretch. A lump at the jawline isn't normal and is a sign of an abscess or fluid collection. I would be heading to the ER if it was my kid....and I'm a nurse. If this dentist has prescribed flagyl and a second antibiotic(clindamycin maybe?) then that's enough for me to want an infectious disease doctor on the case.

I get what you're saying, I do.

And, yes, the 1st antibiotic was clindamycin.

And what you say about wanting an infectious disease doctor scares me.

I guess I'm hesitant to take her to the ER because I *do* see an improvement today... not much, but it's there. The swelling has gone down a little.

I do plan to call our pediatrician first thing tomorrow morning.
 
You said she acted very depressed. In the setting of what's going on, that's concerning because infection can spread (and someone who's got a systemic infection would act that way). I would favor and evaluation by an ER physician/specialist to see if she needs IV antibiotics or other supportive care, like fluids, pain medication, etc. Major pediatric ERs will have a dentist on call to consult.

Thank you. I'm concerned too. What concerns me most at this point is the hard lump under her jaw & that it's red on the outside & warm to the touch. DH is concerned as well, but is thinking, though, that we can wait until tomorrow morning since we do see a slight improvement.

Dd18 had her wisdom teeth extracted last summer. She was pretty miserable, but that's tooth pain for you. I had. A dry socket with mine, and was so depressed (except for losing 15 pounds - liked that part). I'm not saying don't be concerned, but her behavior seems normal to me.

She's just done w/ this & ready for it be over. You can look at her & tell she's lost weight, & she really didn't have anything "extra" to lose. She ate a couple of cookies earlier today & was excited.

She has a swim meet tomorrow evening, & she's determined she's swimming.
 

Been there done that more than I care to count. I had a d double abscess 2 Halloweens ago. I blew up on October 29th, had Drain #1 put in on Halloween. Finally was in the all clear after 2 root caals, an Apico, weeks of popping Ecedrin like skittless so I could work, and numerous rounds of antibiotics the end of February. Headaches still persisted, but my insurance year starts in July and all that work had to be paid for. :furious: I had everything done by an Endodontist. It was a given.

My general dentist is my uncle, he did a full set of X-Ray 2 weeks prior. It was barely visible on that set. He noticed it after he went back and looked at them after I swelled to the point of a black eye. I of course called him more than a few names not suitable for these boards. :rolleyes1

Get her to an oral surgeon or an Endodontist, it sounds like she needs it!
 
Just a thought...(as my dd is sitting upstairs after getting a bone graft in her upper jawbone (implant prep) and 4 wisdom teeth out today!)

Swimming is not a good activity after dental surgery. You are not suppose to put undo pressure on the mouth and swimming requires you to hold your breath underwater.

That being said, if my dd had an abscess we would have taken her to the ER, ESP if it is warm to the touch. That would make ME nervous.

I would see an oral surgeon or an endodontist at this point. I had a root canal by an endodontist. I had a massive infection. I had to go back 3 times to get it all cleaned out.
 
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That's the kind of thing I'm worried about.

She hasn't run a fever though.

I would have called her pediatrician earlier, but I thought, since she started the antibiotic on Friday that she would start getting better. The root canal was on Wednesday. Thursday I assumed would be a typical recover day. On Friday, she went back to the dentist. On Saturday, I did think about taking her to the ER, but, by Saturday night, she was showing *some* improvement - it wasn't getting worse.

I tried calling our pediatrician today after I talked to the dentist, but they were already gone for the day. But I plan to call them tomorrow.


My son did not have a fever. He had very bad swelling that got worse after the procedure when it should have gotten better and pain and like I said he needed 5 days in the hospital with IV antibiotics before he was ok to go home. I'd take her to the ER to get checked.
 
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Op please take her to the ER. In this situation it is always better to err on the side of caution.
 
I would take her to the ER personally, it's where I wound up when mine got like that and I got a different antibiotic and pain medicine also and it was determined I had an reaction to the anstetic on top of the infection
 
Sounds like she has an abscess. I just had one removed from my neck today. It started after a skin infection on my scalp last year and has become re-infected 4 times. Each time it'd get warm to the touch and swell up like an egg. I had no fever, but didn't feel good. They are nothing to mess with. My dr sent me to a dermatologist to have it treated who swabbed it figure out which antibiotic to use. After the 4th time she decided it was time to have it removed. It was a fairly simple procedure and I'm typing with a giant bandage on my neck.
 
I wanted to thank you all for the advice.

In a way, I feel a little better about the dentist & his prescribed treatment, but also more worried as well, if that makes sense. Depending on what the pediatrician says, we might be following up w/ an oral surgeon.

For right now, we're staying home. We don't think she's emergent, & she is doing better, at the moment. DH made turkey burgers for dinner, & she was able to eat one.

Normally, before our younger DS goes to bed, either DH or I read him a story & then he has to have his big sister tell him a story. As he goes to sleep, she tells him a story that she makes up. Anyway, for the past week, she hasn't felt like it, of course, but, tonight, after I read to him & tucked him, she came to his room & said she had a story for him.

So she is feeling better & more like herself. And she was laughing w/ our older DS earlier.

But the lump & reddened area still concern me, especially w/ some of the stories I'm reading here, so tomorrow we'll definitely be contacting her pediatrician & letting him see her.

Thank you all again!
 
I had something similar. Ended up going to an endodontist for gum surgery to remove the infection. Please don't keep waiting, the infection can spread. Hope she feels better soon.
 
OP - any update on your daughter? I was reminded about it today when my DH mentioned he had the dentist later. I hope she is doing well.
 
OP - any update on your daughter? I was reminded about it today when my DH mentioned he had the dentist later. I hope she is doing well.

I was just getting ready to update!

Thank you for checking on her!

Yesterday, when DD woke up, the swelling was a *little* bit less. It's still there, & it's still noticeable. The lump is still hard & warm to the touch. The "redness" hasn't spread any, however, & has become less.

But DD says she feels better. The pain is considerably less. She's not having to take nearly as much pain medicine. I can tell she feels better because she has perked up quite a bit & is talking, laughing, etc.

I spoke w/ her pediatrician yesterday who said that it was fine for her to take both antibiotics at the same time, but that it might not be a bad idea to also take a probiotic. (She's been eating yogurt.) Since we are seeing improvement, at this point, DD doesn't need to be seen by the pediatrician. However, if she's still the same in 24-48 hours, we'll need to take her to the pediatrician.

I think I'm just used to antibiotics working more quickly - for things like strep throat or an ear infection, & I was thrown for a loop when I didn't see that same kind of quick recovery this time.

The doctor also said it was fine for her to swim if she felt like it. She's determined to not miss any swim meets. She's one of the only girls in our team's 15-18 age bracket. After our coach submits the heat sheet for a meet, we lose points if the swimmer who was listed to swim an entry doesn't swim. So DD is so afraid to lose points for her team - or for there not to be anyone from our team swimming in a particular entry. Both we (DH & I) & her coach have told her it doesn't matter, &, if she is too sick/hurt to swim, that's okay - we understand, her teammates understand, etc. We have a wonderfully supportive & understanding coach. But DD's been pressing on. Anyway, I said all that to say she swam in a swim meet last Thursday (the day after the root canal) as well. She felt absolutely awful, & I spent the entire meet worried & nervous. She was shaky & exhausted, &, while she swam okay, she didn't swim like she normally does. But, last night was completely different. She was laughing w/ her friends, helping wrangle the younger swimmers, & swam really, really well. (She got first in freestyle!) After her IM, she said, "I'm not even winded." So that made me feel so much better!!

Also, the dentist office called yesterday to check on her. The receptionist was who called & also the one w/ whom I had spoken on Monday who had told me that the dentist would want to put the permanent crown on as scheduled on Wednesday - which was making both DH & I think that he really was wanting to just "get done w/ us" & was making us less trustworthy of what he was saying, if that makes sense. Anyway, the receptionist said, "I just need to be clear w/ you that you all are NOT coming in tomorrow for the permanent crown, right?" When I told her that was correct, she said, "Okay, good. I also need to apologize. I misspoke yesterday. I was talking to the dentist about your DD, & he said he does not want to put the permanent crown until she's asymptomatic. Normally, we want to get the permanent crown as soon as we can which is what I've always understood & why I told you what I said, but, in instances like this, it's best to wait." So that made us feel better. She also said they'd be calling again this week to check on DD.

Hopefully, she will continue to improve, & we won't need to consult an oral surgeon.

Thank you, all, for the advice, good thoughts, & prayers!
 
I would find a new dentist. "The lump is still hard and warm to the touch" and he is not seeing her to check it? The receptionist misspoke? red flags!
 













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