Root Canal?

[Marita40]

I've had several, including through crowns. The worst part for me is the shots of Novocaine (or whatever they use now) to get the area of numb. Once that is done, just a lot of tedium and spit as they work the place. Mild soreness after for a day or two. One (many years ago) didn't "take" and had to be redone. You'll be fine. Anything is better than tooth ache to me!
I doubt that a "rough" cleaning would cause a tooth to crack unless it was on the edge anyway. Perhaps the two weeks given you before the root canal is to see whether the area settles down or is indeed in need of treatment. You can always wait and see.

[wrigley]

I had my first root canal recently. It was on a tooth that already had a crown. The doc went right through the crown and performed the root canal. Out of the chair in about an hour with zero pain during the procedure. I can recommend a guy but he's in Jacksonville Florida!

Good luck to you.

P.S. The worst part of the entire procedure was the 3 shots he gave me in the roof of my mouth!

Mike

[HadEnuff]

Retired dentist here:
No, your cleaning had nothing to do with the tooth requiring a root canal.

It is not uncommon at all for a tooth that had a crown a number of years, or decades, to be fine for many many years, and then need a root canal.

I have two in my mouth. One for 15 years, although it had to be retreated after 5, and the other just a few months. BTW, the one that I just had done, I never had a symptom, but routine x-ray revealed pathology in the bone around the root tip. Also very common to need RC and never have had a symptom.

I had a specialist do both of mine, BTW. It's all they do, they do them all day long, day after day. On a molar, under a crown? In my practice that tooth definitely goes to the specialist, who BTW, is called and "endodontist", not the same thing as an "oral surgeon".

Most endodontists now do their procedures while looking through a microscope with lots of light. Under a crown it is very hard to see what your are doing without one.
The chances that the tooth is cracked under the crown are good enough that I'd want a specialist with a microscope evaluating and treating.

You should discuss this with your dentist. Be prepared to pay $1,000- $1500 for a molar root canal under a crown, done by a specialist, depending upon your area.

Best of Luck!

[wrigley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HadEnuff Retired dentist here: No, your cleaning had nothing to do with the tooth requiring a root canal. It is not uncommon at all for a tooth that had a crown a number of years, or decades, to be fine for many many years, and then need a root canal. I have two in my mouth. One for 15 years, although it had to be retreated after 5, and the other just a few months. BTW, the one that I just had done, I never had a symptom, but routine x-ray revealed pathology in the bone around the root tip. Also very common to need RC and never have had a symptom. I had a specialist do both of mine, BTW. It's all they do, they do them all day long, day after day. On a molar, under a crown? In my practice that tooth definitely goes to the specialist, who BTW, is called and "endodontist", not the same thing as an "oral surgeon". Most endodontists now do their procedures while looking through a microscope with lots of light. Under a crown it is very hard to see what your are doing without one. The chances that the tooth is cracked under the crown are good enough that I'd want a specialist with a microscope evaluating and treating. You should discuss this with your dentist. Be prepared to pay $1,000- $1500 for a molar root canal under a crown, done by a specialist, depending upon your area. Best of Luck!

Yes........I saw an endodontist also. Just like you said he worked using a microscope and he made it clear to me on a couple occasions to remain as still as I could while he was working!

It was actually quite a pleasant visit.........if you can call a root canal pleasant!

Mike

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 No problems since. Only the cost is painful!

Tell me about it. I had a crown done then they had to drill through it a few months later for a root canal then the tooth broke a couple of month later and needed an implant. Total cost for that tooth was $8500. Ouch...

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HadEnuff Retired dentist here: I had a specialist do both of mine, BTW. It's all they do, they do them all day long, day after day. On a molar, under a crown? In my practice that tooth definitely goes to the specialist, who BTW, is called and "endodontist", not the same thing as an "oral surgeon".

Yep. After my root canal, on return to my regular dentist, I asked her why she didn't become an endodontist. After all, it seemed like an assembly line of money making.

She laughed, said, yep, but that it would have also drove her crazy to do the same, after same, after same. She'd rather have the challenge of variety than just becoming part of an assembly line.

I was glad to use the Endo. This guy really knew his stuff.

[Rianne]

I've had 2 root canals and 11 crowns. Not all endocrinologists are the same and don't be fooled by the cost. One endo had a beautiful office, several assistants, very expensive...you'd think "he's really good, knows what he's doing" not always the case. He was arrogant and I had to have it done again. One big aspect, make sure you are comfortable with your bite. This can cause another root canal, if your bite isn't right. Keep going back until you are satisfied.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rianne Not all endocrinologists are the same...

I think I see the problem with your dental work right there.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I think I see the problem with your dental work right there.

Well....at least it wasn't proctologists.

[Rianne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I think I see the problem with your dental work right there.

I have beautiful teeth now and only get them cleaned twice/year. Knock on wood. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I'm beginning to think because we had such good health insurance with dental and vision for so many years, doctors look at this at think, good candidate for surgery/treatment. I sometimes think about 8 of those crowns were unnecessary, most all back teeth, molars. I have become super skeptical of doctors these days.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras .... The anticipation and "war stories" from friends was the worst part.... By the next day, I was pain free and had no soreness at all. .....

+1. I've had several, including two through crowns. The last was a disintegrating canine and I did see an endodontist for that (apparently the roots are longer and curve more than my regular dentist is comfortable dealing with), who was very good--I show that crown off as if it's jewelry). Only in the case of a very bad abscess did I have killer pain afterward that the dentist had to go back in to relieve. Otherwise I don't think they are much worse (except for financially) than getting a cavity filled.

[Aerides]

The pain before a root canal - ie, that causes the reason for the surgery - is the worst part. The root canal essentially kills the root (and the nerve) so afterwards is cake. Getting numbed up for the procedure is not fun if you don't like needles.

Meds for a couple days just because everything's a bit sore. (Good excuse for a couple of sick days if you are still working.) Then you have the fun of getting a new crown which I find very tedious and annoying.

[CRLLS]

DW just had her 1st. Me, not had one. Her family dentist said he no longer does root canals on molars because of the complexity so he sent her to an endodontist. The procedure was really painless for her (and DW does not endure any pain). He installed a temporary filling. She just went back to her dentist for her temporary crown fitting last week and again she was chewing within hours. Final crown will be done in a few weeks. We don't expect any surprises.

I remember 45 yrs ago, a friend had a root canal the morning of his wedding. I thought he was foolish back then. Today, things seem to have gotten a lot easier.

[HadEnuff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rianne I have beautiful teeth now and only get them cleaned twice/year. Knock on wood. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I'm beginning to think because we had such good health insurance with dental and vision for so many years, doctors look at this at think, good candidate for surgery/treatment. I sometimes think about 8 of those crowns were unnecessary, most all back teeth, molars. I have become super skeptical of doctors these days.

well, at least now that you don't have insurance, you aren't faced with trying to finance 8 crowns on molars that are breaking apart (maybe sending you to the endodontist first).

I used to hear "if it ain't broke don't fix it" a lot. My response was "what if the guy you are paying to keep you out of trouble thinks that it is about to break, catastrophically?"

[splitwdw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marita40 I've had several, including through crowns. The worst part for me is the shots of Novocaine (or whatever they use now) to get the area of numb. Once that is done, just a lot of tedium and spit as they work the place. Mild soreness after for a day or two. One (many years ago) didn't "take" and had to be redone. You'll be fine. Anything is better than tooth ache to me! I doubt that a "rough" cleaning would cause a tooth to crack unless it was on the edge anyway. Perhaps the two weeks given you before the root canal is to see whether the area settles down or is indeed in need of treatment. You can always wait and see.

Since he was put on an antibiotic he probably had an infection, that's probably why the 2 week wait.

I don't understand all the scare stories from friends about the experience. Mine have usually taken an hour and no pain other than the injections.

Rianne, Hopefully you didn't go to an endocrinologist for your root canal.

[YVRRocketSurgery]

My last root canal was years ago when I neglected my regular visits and suffered a bit. When I finally went in, the root/nerves were pretty dead so they didn't even numb the area even though they gave me the option. Overall, it was fine, though with the few odd "ick" feelings; not really "ouch". Was told to take it easy for a while but I was eating pretty regularly by dinner.

Hated my dentist as a kid. He was pretty horrible. My current dentist is great. Communicates, explains things.

[jim584672]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud I had cracked a tooth... they were going to go with just a crown, but it still was sensitive to cold.... said he needed to do a root canal... When he got in there he said there was nothing to be done except the root canal... the tooth was cracked all the way through... you could not see it on X ray, but easily when it was open... I saw the pic... I have a problem with a tooth now and will probably be getting a root canal on it... I have been waiting for 4 months for the nerve to heal itself... I think it never will...

I had a tooth that was cracked and the root canal guy said it couldn't be saved due to the crack. Implant is next.

[bingybear]

I had my first back in the 70's... in Jr. High. Before going in the tooth felt like it was going to explode. Ice helped, but after a while nothing did. The dentist did the root canal without pain meds at all. When he drilled into the canal, the pain went away.

This was caused by a football accident about a year before. The nerve was dead and pressure was building up in the tooth. The pressure was causing the pain.

If yours is more normal, I would expect it to take longer. But then you are likely not in that level of pain now.

[gayl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAE Now he says......."ok, looks like you need a root canal", and schedules it for 2 weeks from now (and puts me on a 10-day course of antibiotics). .... So I have two questions: -if you have had a root canal, how did it go? How long until you could start chewing with that tooth again, without pain? Any unanticipated side effects, short- or long-term? and........ - do you think it is possible that the rough cleaning a couple days before the pain started was responsible for this crown starting to hurt all of a sudden? I have had this crown for some 12 years now, with zero problems until now. I have not brought this possibility up with the dentist or the hygienist, but it sure seems to me that the cleaning might have contributed to this problem. -RAE

yeah .... I have had too many including 1 under an old crown a month ago. Dentist tried to avoid it, wish he hadn't

My endodontist offers gas & I insist on it ($85 extra). No idea what's going on afterwards. Scenario:
Walk in
Get gas & dental dam
Wake up an hour later
Aspirin every 6- 8 hours for 2 days, abx × 10 days for infection (you're on it already)
Can't eat for an hour or chew on that side for a few days

[kimcdougc]

I have had at least 10 root canals. Just last week was the last one. The worst part is the pain before the root canal. They just do it through the crown that is there. I always take the gas as I am a big chicken. This last tooth already had a root canal and they thought it had cracked, the endodontist found a 2nd nerve under the tooth. Killed the nerve and no more pain.

Had to go back to my regular dentist for a permanent filling. Pain free again.

I go to an older endodontist whom is up to date with all the newer technology. He does a great job. No need to be afraid.

Cost $1,300.