I had a root canal done about 3 and a half years ago when I was under my mothers dental insurance, and got a temporary filling and never came up with the money to get it caped. Now my temp filling has slowly started to rear apart in two spots and in the past week I started having a throbbing pain in my tooth and gums. Is my tooth re infected? Do I need to go to the emergency room or something? I have no health insurance and recently lost my job so I have no sorce of income. I am unsure of what to do. If its a minor thing I can put it off until I get a job but if it is major my only option is the emergency room.
Hello and welcome to Chat Doctor forum, I would like to inform you that throbbing pain and swelling in a root canal treated tooth is from re-infection. Your tooth needs a dentist attention, as the root canal treatment will have to be performed again in order to remove infection and fill the tooth with fresh filling material. I will advise you to see your dentist, but if seeing your dentist is not an option for a while then I will advise you not to chew anything from the affected side. Take antibiotics and painkiller if possible, after every 8 hours. Do not overdose with medication due to side effects. Also, you can perform warm saline rinses 3-4 times/day, Antibacterial mouth rinse will also help in relieving pain and swelling to some extent. Kindly visit your dentist whenever its possible as this instruction will provide temporary relief only.I hope this answer was useful, i wish you good health, take care.