A 47-year-old man came to an oral surgery emergency unit in Riga, Latvia, with a swelling above his upper front tooth that had lingered for several weeks. It did not hurt, and he had no fever. He described only an unusual sensation in the area.
His dental history seemed to explain it. The tooth had an earlier root canal that clinicians judged inadequate, and an X-ray showed a dark area at the root tip, a classic sign of infection.
