Failed root canal

[harllee]

About 10 years ago I cracked a tooth, had a crown but that did not work (got an infection and an abscess), then I had a root canal and all was good until a couple of weeks ago when I started having fairly significant pain in that tooth. Of course, I was out of town and I called my dentist and they called me in some antibiotics and told me to come in as soon as I got back in town. The antibiotics helped the pain but as soon as the prescription ran out the pain came back. I went to my dentist today who could not figure out what was wrong so she sent me to an enododonist who had a fancy 3D X-ray (cost 400!!). The enododonist said that I had root resorption which in effect means that the root canal has failed. The endodonist said they could try redoing the root canal but he did not think that would be successful and that he would recommend that my tooth be extracted and that I have a tooth implant (which will cost about $6000 and take 6 to 9 months to complete). I have an appointment for next week with an implant specialist. In the meantime my tooth is aching. Anyone else ever had a a root canal fail?

 

[brett]

Yes. Two years ago.

Pulled the tooth. Went with an implant.

 

[Texas Proud]

DW has... her implants were more expensive... had to have bone grafts...

 

[ksr]

Yes, about 3 years ago I had a very old root canal fail. Like your case, the endodontist thought redoing the root canal would not have a very good outcome.

I had the tooth extracted and an implant with crown. That process went very smoothly, although it took months of waiting between implant and crown. That was probably the worst part (well, besides the cost!) as I was so careful eating before the crown was placed. But so far it has worked out very well and I am happy with the decision.

 

[jazz4cash]

I don’t think it’s considered ‘failed’. I’ve had root canal ‘touchups’ on two teeth. I’m learning that dental work wears out. When I had mine many years ago the fancy xray was not available at many places. I got referred to the State U Dental School just for the (free) xray.

 

[fh2000]

Seems quite common.

I had a root canal that started to hurt after about 10 years. It was then extracted and had an implant put in.

Recently a molar started to hurt. Endodontist did the root canal with 4 channels with 2 sittings. Dentist did a crown lengthening procedure, a crown, and patches of two adjacent teeth. I told the 2 doctors I will be happy if I can keep this for 10 years. All told: $4400 from my HSA fund.

 

[skipro33]

You can get a bridge instead of an implant for a whole lot less cost

 

[athena53]

I developed an abscess at the root of a tooth that had been root-canalled years before. I was in Budapest and the hotel concierge referred me to an immaculately-clean dental clinic where they said the only thing to do was extract it. It was a relief- the pain the night before had kept me up most of the night. This was maybe 1999; the whole procedure including a panoramic X-ray cost $78! I gave the concierge a nice tip the next morning.

Had a bridge installed after I got home; that lasted about 20 years and then I developed decay under one of the teeth holding up the bridge (hard to see on an X-ray sometimes till it's too late). Had implants to replace that tooth and the one extracted. I have 8 implants now (oral surgeon has one patient with 16) and love them. Highly recommended if cost is not an issue.

 

[wrigley]

$6000 with or without insurance? My wife is currently in the process of getting two separate implants. Both of them combined with our insurance don't add up to $6000 (our out-of-pocket cost). The 6 to 9 months is correct because of the process. Once the post is installed, they have to wait a few months to make sure the bone around it heals properly and doesn't reject the post. That actually happened to my wife. About 2 months after the post was installed it just fell out one evening. They had to add bone to the area, wait until that healed, and then reinstalled the post. That one was a little messy and quite time consuming. Good luck.

Mike

 

[street]

The cause of a failed root canal is that the root was not cleaned out to perfection. That step is the most critical part for a successful procedure. The tooth failed because of not properly done.

I wish you the best.

 

[FindingForward]

About 10 years ago I cracked a tooth, had a crown but that did not work (got an infection and an abscess), then I had a root canal and all was good until a couple of weeks ago when I started having fairly significant pain in that tooth. Of course, I was out of town and I called my dentist and they called me in some antibiotics and told me to come in as soon as I got back in town. The antibiotics helped the pain but as soon as the prescription ran out the pain came back. I went to my dentist today who could not figure out what was wrong so she sent me to an enododonist who had a fancy 3D X-ray (cost 400!!). The enododonist said that I had root resorption which in effect means that the root canal has failed. The endodonist said they could try redoing the root canal but he did not think that would be successful and that he would recommend that my tooth be extracted and that I have a tooth implant (which will cost about $6000 and take 6 to 9 months to complete). I have an appointment for next week with an implant specialist. In the meantime my tooth is aching. Anyone else ever had a a root canal fail?

twice Many years ago, they'd advise to retry - I did and it failed again. Now noticing they advise extraction and implant. I guess over time, they realized those retries rarely stuck.

 

[Aerides]

Similar yes.

Root canal, then a few years later had to have the post redone. Then about 10 years after that was shown the whole thing was loose.

Replaced it all with an implant, perfect ever since. Implants can vary in price, but 6k still sounds high. Mine was in 2016 and was about 2500. a smaller tooth on the lower side. I got a post and a "plug" the day of the extraction, and the implant was ready about 2-3 months later.

If your tooth in on the lower half, I would not want to go longer than that without a temporary or something, as your upper tooth depends on its partner to stay in place properly. 6-9 months is ridiculous though.

I'd go back to your dentist with the xrays and ask to meet with their recommended oral surgeon, or find one you like.

 

[FindingForward]

Replaced it all with an implant, perfect ever since. Implants can vary in price, but 6k still sounds high. Mine was in 2016 and was about 2500. a smaller tooth on the lower side. I got a post and a "plug" the day of the extraction, and the implant was ready about 2-3 months later.

You paid 2500 including the crown restoration? If so, wow. I've never heard of it that cheap in the US. Estimates are 5-7k (start to finish...implant by the specialist +crown, which is usually done by regular dentist)

 

[Aerides]

You paid 2500 including the crown restoration? If so, wow. I've never heard of it that cheap in the US. Estimates are 5-7k (start to finish...implant by the specialist +crown, which is usually done by regular dentist)

I didn't have a crown, this was a total implant. Again, this was almost 10 years ago.

 

[Jerry1]

What kind of insurance covers this if one is on Medicare? Is it considered a medical treatment or do you need to have dental insurance to cover the implant?

 

[harllee]

What kind of insurance covers this if one is on Medicare? Is it considered a medical treatment or do you need to have dental insurance to cover the implant?

Medicare does not cover and I have never found any dental insurance that is worth it.

 

[harllee]

The cause of a failed root canal is that the root was not cleaned out to perfection. That step is the most critical part for a successful procedure. The tooth failed because of not properly done.

I wish you the best.

The endodontist (who was not the one that did the root canal originally) said that he did not think it was a case that the root canal was improperly done--he thought it was an autoimmune response where something caused my body to attack the root canal. There is no sign of bacteria.

 

[jazz4cash]

I had two failed implants that were redone at no cost to me. It took about 18months. That dentist did not take insurance but it was ~$6k for both. Insurance did pay for crowns over the implant by my regular dentist. That was 4 yrs ago and so far so good.

I see many new places opening up around here like Aspen Dental that do full implants (all upper or lower teeth) in a single day. I think it costs about $10k for that. I wonder how they can do it in one day.

 

[5Miler]

About eight years ago my regular dentist noticed something irregular about an old root canal on a lower molar and referred me to an Endodontist to check it out. I was feeling no pain but kept the appointment anyway. The Endodontist checked it out and I agreed to the $400 fancy 3D scan which showed some irritation of the old root area but since I was not experiencing any issues we decided to monitor it for the time being.

I still have no issues with it so monitoring continues. Fortunately for me, my dental insurance covered most of the $400 which the Endodontist told me was pretty unusual. The next option would probably be extraction and implant but so far, so good.

 

[HawkOwl]

The cause of a failed root canal is that the root was not cleaned out to perfection. That step is the most critical part for a successful procedure. The tooth failed because of not properly done.

I wish you the best.

Root canals can fail for a variety of reasons, including “idiopathic” (meaning the reason cannot be ascertained). The dental specialist who examined the OP and had access to advanced imaging gave his professional opinion.

Your certainty that you know the cause of the infection is not justified.

 

[RetMD21]

I had a redo then an extraction. It was a second molar so I didn't get an implant. I was just glad to be done

I was told that the originally infected root was unusually long. I wonder if it was cleaned out well.

 

[street]

Root canals can fail for a variety of reasons, including “idiopathic” (meaning the reason cannot be ascertained). The dental specialist who examined the OP and had access to advanced imaging gave his professional opinion.

Your certainty that you know the cause of the infection is not justified.

I have a good friend that is specialist in the field of root cannels. He said, the main reason for failure is the procedure had an error in the processes. Not my judging but what a professional has told me.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

You can get a bridge instead of an implant for a whole lot less cost

Unless it's an end tooth of course.

That being said, I've had 3 separate bridges since I was 18. I proactively replaced all 3 before I retired (while I still had a FSA). Never had one fail - the first set lasted over 30 years, and were still good.

The only chore is nightly cleaning under the bridge each night - takes 30 seconds.

 

[athena53]

I had two failed implants that were redone at no cost to me. It took about 18months. That dentist did not take insurance but it was ~$6k for both. Insurance did pay for crowns over the implant by my regular dentist. That was 4 yrs ago and so far so good.

I see many new places opening up around here like Aspen Dental that do full implants (all upper or lower teeth) in a single day. I think it costs about $10k for that. I wonder how they can do it in one day.

I always wonder about that, too. My individual implants are a very long process; remove tooth and place the threaded titanium plate into the jawbone, wait 3+ months, put on a "healing cap", wait another 3 months, put on prosthetic tooth. Since we're comparing prices- in the Kansas City area mine have generally run $5,000 for everything.

I can't imagine having all my teeth extracted, the "anchor" implants installed (usually 4 of them) and the snap-in dentures inserted in a single day.

 

[wrigley]

I always wonder about that, too. My individual implants are a very long process; remove tooth and place the threaded titanium plate into the jawbone, wait 3+ months, put on a "healing cap", wait another 3 months, put on prosthetic tooth. Since we're comparing prices- in the Kansas City area mine have generally run $5,000 for everything.

I can't imagine having all my teeth extracted, the "anchor" implants installed (usually 4 of them) and the snap-in dentures inserted in a single day.

A friend of mine just had that same thing done about a week ago. He had 16 top teeth pulled, anchors installed, and a temporary set of teeth made for now while he awaits his permanent set of dentures (for lack of a better word). I saw him 2 days after the procedure. He was literally black and blue from right below his eyes down to his chin. He did say he wasn't in nearly as much pain as his face might indicate.

Mike