Dave it's so good to hear from someone who's had this surgery done! How's your tooth now? Is it still painful, or loose? DId the procedure cause discolouration or cracking? Did your dentist tell you how long you could expect the results to last? ANd I'm wondering - were you warned about 'significant gum and bone loss' around the tooth before the surgery?

No, once the nerve is gone the tooth itself can't cause pain - but the living bone / surrounding soft tissues can and do get painfully irritated / infected as the body naturally rejects (tries to protect itself) from the foreign material used to fasten the remaining tooth structure to the bone.

I've never needed a crown, so that's good, I guess. But the little tooth in question is "crowned" with an an ever-growing filling that's been broken and replaced three times over the last 2-3 years. Looking back, I;ve already spent $1,000+ on that one little tooth. And I figure those repeated dental procedures have irritated/damaged the bone and the tip of the root enough to cause the abcess.   

That, plus the fact that poorly advised/administered orthodontics caused a chronic "loss of vitality" in all of my teeth via structural damage to the roots, nerves, and supporting bone / soft tissues from age 7 up.

The only other teeth I've lost got abcessed because the roots extended into my sinus (I do believe this; I studied the X-rays). So every time I'd get a cold or sinus infection, the nerves were damaged too. One too many flu bugs / stress overloads, and OUUUUUCCCHHHHH .... bye bye tooth.

Anyway, I'm just grateful I didn't have to decide about root canals on those two, as the dentist couldn't possibly "bolt" them to my sinuses or my eyeballs ;-)