An Update

I got to see my dentist today. I told him all that was going on, and he decided first off he'd adjust my bite to see if that would relieve the problem. He said that the pain I'm feeling in the neck and head sounds like muscle spasms caused by the bite being off (he suggested taking some anti-inflammatories, or talking to my doctor to see if he had a suggestion to relieve the muscle aches).

They also took x-rays, and he said that even though he could find nothing different between the previous x-ray (done just after the root canal) and this one, he said there is a small possibility it could have infection. He thought maybe doing a round of antibiotics again would be helpful, and prescribed clindamycin (the same antibiotic I was on for the infected root canaled tooth in May), thinking that if there is any infection it would cut it back. He said if things don't settle down by the time I see him for my other dental work, he'd refer me to an endodontist to see what else can be done. I asked him about the possibility of pulling the tooth if it's found to be infected, and he showed me on the x-rays that I have one and a half teeth relying on that tooth for chewing, so it wouldn't be wise to remove it.

I'm not sure where this is all going to put me in a couple of weeks, but my doctor said to start the antibiotics since that seems to be the only option right now. From what I have read, antibiotics will not be able to penetrate the tooth to get inside and kill anything that's going on in there, so if it is an infection this will only be a temporary reprieve.