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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

I'm wondering if anyone can help me.
I've been going to a dental school to get cheaper prices on my dental work. The first thing they did was to tell me I needed a root canal and so I let them do it.

That was six months ago and it hurt after they did it. They kept saying the pain would wear off. I think it's also making my sinus blocked up and I have a sinus headache all the time.

Finally they did xrays and the head of endodontry said that the root canal looked beautiful. He tapped on my teeth and I almost went through the ceiling when he tapped lightly on the root canal tooth.

The he tested my teeth for cold and he said that it was the NEXT tooth to the root canal tooth that the gum was sensitive to cold.

He says THAT tooth needs a root canal.

Meanwhile, the original root canal tooth that they did is killing me. I can't chew on that side and even if I put my finger on that tooth it hurts.

I always though that after the nerve had been removed from a tooth you couldn't have pain. This is horrible. Can anyone help? TIA
Message 1 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

a molar second to the last is tooth number 19

now, if its number 18 that is a little different.
that is the last tooth in your Lower left mandible unless you still own # 17--which is a wisdom tooth.

dental problems are indeed complicated and expensive.
I work for a periodontist who does successful implants every single day.

but--not one solution works for everyone.
but getting a tooth pulled and not replaced is not good practice----

you have no idea how many people come to me with blow out and I mean blow problems and they say

" I wish that dentist that pulled that first tooth would have told me to get a bridge or an implant."

its not the same rule for everyone but losing a tooth causes shifting of all your remaining teeth around 70% of the time.
then you get form pockets and gum disease.
now, thats a bad dental problem.
Message 76 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

tams_k
Enthusiast
I still have my wisdom tooth. Its grown all the way in, already has a filling and has been fine for years now. The dentist did ask me if it was hot/cold sensitive because it was fixed with a better filling not to long ago, but strangely enough, it has been one of the better teeth.
I believe that dental professionals scare people by saying that their teeth will shift when in fact they won't. In cases like mine, the only problem foreseen is it to over-erupt. In other words..through time, the teeth in the upper and lower jaw consistently grinds across each other and in a sense, wears them down. If you take away a bottom tooth, you don't have anything to grind down that tooth, so as the others "break down" that unpaired tooth does not. However, I don't see that being a major issue. If I were in my 20's, it MIGHT be of some concern, even with POSSIBLE "shifting" ..but right now, I don't see too many problems with extraction. I have had the same tooth on the top portion taken out well over 10 years ago, and I can assure you (since my endodontist JUST checked 2 weeks ago) there were absolutely NO shift in teeth whatsoever.
While doing some research, I came across a site and msg board that was VERY interesting. It brought up some very important points and a alternative view on dental. Being a Med. Student, I see where there arguments can be true. Most say that the worst thing you could ever get is a root canal. http://vitalvotes.com/blogs/public_blog/What-Are-Your-Options-If-You-Need-a-Tooth-Extracted--22808.aspx
the posts are interesting, the initial "dentist report" is funny to me though, I just ignored him.
Message 77 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

frazzedmom
Trailblazer
misspuppy & cold_play ~~ so, when your office sees a pt. on the schedule that happens to be in the medical field, do you guys shudder too?? or is it just our office?! LOL! Tammy, with all due respect (honestly, I respect you for your MEDICAL expertise with what you have learned so far in school...but that does not mean you are an expert in the field of dentistry) YOU DID NOT CROWN THE TOOTH AFTER YOUR RCT.

If only I had a buck everytime a patient said 'root canals never work on me.....' and then they say, 'no, I never did get a crown put on'....!!! Aughhhh.





If your gecko is broken, you have a reptile dysfunction.
Message 78 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

hey frazzed--

missp and coldplay are both me--

I had to change my ID long story that

what kind of office do you work in?
Iwork in three

perio and 2 general practices.
yesterday the boss F'bombed everyone and THEN our xray processor broke.
it was a great day.
Message 79 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

frazzedmom
Trailblazer
Oh bummer:_| Those days suck!!! 3 offices--holy smacks girl, you are busy! What state are you in? We have one (1!!) periodontist here....man, he is swamped & always looking for staff. He is a SUPER guy--we're on the local soccer board together.

I've worked for 3 general dentists for 21 yrs--actually, my 1st boss I would have stayed with forever, he was awesome, but my hubby got a job out here, so had to switch. I worked for a 2-doc practice 1st, then got fed up w/ the one guy & left with the 2nd guy when he went on his own. Little by little he got into ortho as well....so have run the gamut from endo to ext's to ortho to CERECs = )

Retired 2 yrs ago--still fill in from time to time, I miss my patients! But w/ DHs job, it wasn't working well for me to be gone from 6:30am to 5pm--he had to do the driving around of the kids. So here I am, retired folk. LOL. Nice to meet cha!





If your gecko is broken, you have a reptile dysfunction.
Message 80 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

omgosh

I would LOVE to retire or at least cut back

the prob.is there are 60 jobs for every hygienist

its absurd.........and since I've been in it for 25 years and know alot of the dds's I get calls ALL THE TIME to fill in for their staff.
Message 81 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

question:

whats CERECs?
is that the new 1 day crown procedure???
its really not here yet in NJ
Message 82 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

frazzedmom
Trailblazer
Yup--CERECs are the 1-visit crown. They are really cool, and pt's love 'em, although post-op sens can be common. My Dr. & I went to 2 training weekends in Detroit (Dr. Mark Morin's seminars--he is incredible!) It was absolutely mind-boggling...that 1st night when we left the training center, and were taking the rental car back to the hotel neither one of us even talked....we were totally brain-fried! LOL. (then, to the bar we went! Felt much better = )

Being retired is nice--'specially with my kids the ages they are. Too old for daycare--too young to stay alone. But...I DO miss my peeps! Although office-life kinda changed & went all uptight & money-oriented in the office after we had a consultant come in....jeesh, talk about a waste of money. She was a Type AAA personality and drove us all flippin' nuts with her "verbage" (I swear, I cringe everytime I hear that da*n word) Luckily she & her company were canned by our Dr. after she was gambling with our office mgr in Vegas, (during a seminar put on by their company) and she was kicked out of Harrah's for licking the cards & being so drunk....LOL! Nice, business-like consultant, eh??!





If your gecko is broken, you have a reptile dysfunction.
Message 83 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

theprodigy21
Enthusiast
If it hurts from six months ago they either didn't completely remove all of the live root tissue or your tooth is fractured. If the pain feels like it is a brain-nerve piercing pain you are getting an infection below the root but if it is a hurt cut pain like someone sliced your a lash in your skin you might have a tooth fracture. In the latter case, it isn't pain produced from the nerve but the gums that are trying to support the split teeth. PS: Buy cheap clothes to save money, buy cheap cologne, buy cheap food, buy generic drugs, buy cheap DVD's but NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER get a cheap dentist--- get a good one that is recommended from others. You don't want to mess with dental stuff, trust me, I have hurt so so so bad in the past.
Message 84 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

Wow! This sounds kind of like what is happening to me, and I am looking for any and all advice.

Last summer I started to have a bunch of pains due to dental neglect. I had an abcess in my molar and I went to a dentist who saw me as an emergency. He did a root canal then and there, put a temp crown on, and sent me home with a prescription antibiotic. Mind you, he did the r/c when it was infected and inflamed and pus was coming out. I did not think anything wrong with this sequence at the time.

I had to leave town for a family death and when I came back one week later he put the permanent crown on. I still was feeling really bad pain in my jaw, though, so the dentist took an xray and said he now thought the problem was the molar next to the r/c he had just done. THAT new tooth was part of a bridge so he did a root canal right then and there and re-cemented the bridge. on. He also commented that my sinuses were really badly swollen (and boy, I knew that, they were tender to the touch).

Okay, two months down the road the pain comes back. This time the dentist says its a bicuspid that is the problem, and it's the one to which my bridge (the other molar r/c) is cemented. So he needs to do an r/c on the bicuspid, which he does, and once again secures it to my bridge.

Over the following 9 months I have continued to have on- and off- again pain in that jaw, and my swollen sinus (above the gums) never completely went away, but it did shrink some, and I learned to live with the discomfort. I called the dentist a couple of times and he said that it would take awhile for me to recover from the procedure, give it a year or so!!!!.

Okay, now it has been a year and today I am in really bad pain. The dentist is on vacation (office closed) so I go to see a new dentist in our dental network. This new dentist tells me (after looking at the x-rays) that the r/canaled molar is the problem and it's because the post perforated the wall of the tooth (?). I could see on the xray that the post was crooked, whereas the other posts were straight. He says that there is an infection there and that's why my sinus is inflamed and why it is causing pain to my other teeth. He said the other (rear molar with crown and bicuspid holding the bridge) look okay; not great, but okay for now. He doesn't think they are the problem. This new dentist is very apologetic and says that this faulty r/c stub is going to have to be extracted and he will have to make a new, larger bridge which will connect to my rear molar (now crowned). He put me on antibiotics to bring down the infection.

I am really scared. If this procedure doesn't work then I am going to have a whole side of teeth missing (!)

Is there any possibility that the problem is not my tooth but instead, my sinus? Like, I have fungal ball in my sinus? Or would a post that perforated do something like this?

Looking for any and all support.
Message 85 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

yes, absolutely a perforated root would cause continual
low grade infection


that is a shame ---I hate to tell you this but that first dentist you saw was an idiot.

If I were you I would call their office and tell them you want a full refund for all the b/s work they did---
Message 86 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

don't worry about not having any teeth on one side


not to alarm you but IMPLANTS are a wonderful thing!
do not be afraid of them but you must go to a qualified surgeon or periodontist to have them done.

I'm sorry for your bad experience with this first dentist.
Message 87 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

frazzedmom
Trailblazer
OMG kimanjome...that DDS was a quack. At least you are in good hands now, from the sounds of it. Yup--an improperly placed post is bad. The post which cracked out of the root itself, has created continual 'wicking' of saliva & bacteria to the sinus (am assuming these are upper teeth--right??) and the sinus problems are the result. Once you get the dental problems taken care of and antibiotics, your sinus issues will be gone.

Am surprised the 1st DDS did the entire RCT & crown prep all in 1 visit...and then to do another entire RCT on-the-spot the next time...hmmm, obviously his schedule isn't filled for some reason--LOL.

Good luck to you & hang in there!





If your gecko is broken, you have a reptile dysfunction.
Message 88 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

I had a dull ache in a vcrown for years.It would kind of come and go.I went to a dentist who said it was seated wrong.It still bothers once in a while,but it is much better now.He said the (I GUESS) nerve was inflamed around it.I am about done with all the dental stuff.I had an abcess and had the tooth pulled.I think my ear and sinuses have more room without the tooth.It kind of made med mad since I had paid for the crown,but no way would I get a root canal in an upper back farthest tooth.
Message 89 of 230
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PAIN IN TOOTH LONG AFTER ROOT CANAL

generally if you lose any tooth it will cause your entire mouth full of teeth to shift--

that is why it is a good idea -nah, a very good idea! to try and keep all of your teeth.
Message 90 of 230
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