My daughter has had two unilateral salivary gland infections. I do know that she has had root canal treatment near those areas. Is it at all possible that the infections from her root canal treatments could have spread and infected her salivary glands?
Penny
Dear Penny,
It is always possible for an infected tooth to spread. So, technically, yes it could have infected her salivary gland. However, there are some caveats here. First, the tooth would still have to be infected. If her root canal treatment healed properly, it would not be infected. That makes me think that the root canals are not the cause of her infections.
However, that doesn’t mean her root canal treatment did heal properly. The area is dead so she may not feel any developing issues in the tooth. My suggestion would be to have some dental x-rays done.
If the x-rays show the area is properly healed, then you’ll need to search for a different cause for her salivary gland problems. If, however, there has been a root canal failure, which does happen, then that could be the cause.
She will need to have a re-treatment. I will tell you ahead of time that chances of success go down with each re-treatment. If the next one doesn’t succeed, you may need to look at having the tooth extracted and replaced.
If she is old enough, meaning that her jaw is completely developed, then a dental implant will be the best replacement option. If she isn’t old enough, you may want to consider just getting a temporary replacement, like a dental flipper, until she is old enough.
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