Wellness

[Karie2022]

I'm going to try to make this short and sweet...I hadn't been to the dentist in 5 years...I have fairly extreme dental anxiety...finally i made an appointment with a dentist that I had never seen, but had good reviews.   A few days before my appointment I broke a tooth, so now I really needed to go.

i went, and was told I needed a bridge, and three crowns on bottom teeth, molars, right and left side...none of this was surprising as I had very large fillings, that been filled a few times over the years.  I went in 3 weeks ago and had the work done, of course they are just temporary, I also had iv sedation, which was fabulous.  4-5 days later in one of the teeth that was crowned with a temporary, I started getting a horrible toothache. Luckily Advil relieved the pain,  but I knew I needed to go back..  dentist said I needed a root canal, as that tooth he worked on was very close to nerve with a large filling...he put me on antibiotics for 5 days.

I said fine, and scheduled it for this coming Wednesday along with getting my permanents in...well, I've been pain free now for 6 days and don't have any sign of infection...no fever, pus, swelling, or pain....I don't know what to do, should I get the root canal anyway...? I know sometimes when the root has died the pain will go away, but the infection is still there, so a root canal is still necessary...I also read that sometimes the nerve gets "angry" from all the work that's been done and it takes a while for it to calm down...i don't know if that's what happened or if it's an actual infection..X-rays at this point don't necessarily show the infection. .I had the bite fixed as well..knowing that sometimes the bite can cause pain...what's weird is the bite is fine sometimes and then it raises up....weird...

i am calling him tomorrow, but am somewhat worried that I can trust him...he has a pretty fancy office, lots of employees ...and I just don't know him well enough...

well, this didn't end up very short and sweet;((. 

[cherry]

They can tell from xrays if you need a root canal. I just had one and it is  painless.

Ask for an xray first

[SurferWife]

Get the root canal, or the infection will come back and you do NOT want to deal with an abscessed tooth. Plus, it's better to get the root canal prior to your new crown; othwperwise they'll have o go through the nice, new crown to do the root canal.

[Hooty]

@Karie2022, I can identify with your dental woes, I too have dental anxiety and my new dentist & her staff have been more than kind to me knowing this.  So far I had to have deep cleaning for gum disease last summer, I still have to have my teeth cleaned every 3 mos. for prevention, I have had 3 teeth pulled, two cavities filled, and a crown just last week,  and another tooth that needs a crown, thankfully I did not have to have a root canal!  It has all be well worth it, my teeth look better and I feel better!  I agree with @cherry, about your dental x-rays!  The worst part is I do not have dental insurance, but thankful that I can pay cash for this!

[Karie2022]

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@SurferWife wrote:

Get the root canal, or the infection will come back and you do NOT want to deal with an abscessed tooth. Plus, it's better to get the root canal prior to your new crown; othwperwise they'll have o go through the nice, new crown to do the root canal.

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I'd gladly get the root canal if I knew for sure the tooth was infected, but I'm not sure...hopefully I'll find out tomorrow.

[Karie2022]

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@cherry wrote:

They can tell from xrays if you need a root canal. I just had one and it is  painless.

Ask for an xray first

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I was told that an abscess takes quite some time to show up on an X-ray...??? But I'll definitely ask for one tomorrow anyway.

[SeaMaiden]

The antibiotics make the pain go away TEMPORARY.  YOU STILL NEED THE ROOT CANAL.   THE X-rays showed the dying root and infection I am sure. It sounds like you picked a good dentist and he is being very though to help you save your teeth. Do not stop now.

[GSPgirl]

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@Karie2022 wrote:

I'm going to try to make this short and sweet...I hadn't been to the dentist in 5 years...I have fairly extreme dental anxiety...finally i made an appointment with a dentist that I had never seen, but had good reviews.   A few days before my appointment I broke a tooth, so now I really needed to go.

i went, and was told I needed a bridge, and three crowns on bottom teeth, molars, right and left side...none of this was surprising as I had very large fillings, that been filled a few times over the years.  I went in 3 weeks ago and had the work done, of course they are just temporary, I also had iv sedation, which was fabulous.  4-5 days later in one of the teeth that was crowned with a temporary, I started getting a horrible toothache. Luckily Advil relieved the pain,  but I knew I needed to go back..  dentist said I needed a root canal, as that tooth he worked on was very close to nerve with a large filling...he put me on antibiotics for 5 days.

I said fine, and scheduled it for this coming Wednesday along with getting my permanents in...well, I've been pain free now for 6 days and don't have any sign of infection...no fever, pus, swelling, or pain....I don't know what to do, should I get the root canal anyway...? I know sometimes when the root has died the pain will go away, but the infection is still there, so a root canal is still necessary...I also read that sometimes the nerve gets "angry" from all the work that's been done and it takes a while for it to calm down...i don't know if that's what happened or if it's an actual infection..X-rays at this point don't necessarily show the infection. .I had the bite fixed as well..knowing that sometimes the bite can cause pain...what's weird is the bite is fine sometimes and then it raises up....weird...

i am calling him tomorrow, but am somewhat worried that I can trust him...he has a pretty fancy office, lots of employees ...and I just don't know him well enough...

well, this didn't end up very short and sweet;((. 

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Will your insurance pay for second opinion?  My original dentist had a private jet that he needed to pay the upkeep on.  He told me I needed 3 crowns even though I had just seen him 6 months earlier.  I went to a different dentist and didn't say a thing.  He said my mouth looked great. I asked him if I didn't need 3 crowns and he said no.  I complained to my insurance company about my former dentist . 

[spent2much]

Noellephoto I could have written your story.  I spent thousands of $$ on ONE tooth and recently had to have it extracted.  My dentist has a beautiful office, too, with LOTS of employees.  Ya gotta wonder.  SIGH  I'm very trustrated!  I hope you have better luck than I did.  A second opinion wouldnl't be a bad idea, as someone else suggested. 

[Tissyanne]

@Karie2022, 

I had my first crown from a cracked tooth a month ago. I too had some tooth pain, and ache, off and on for a couple of weeks. When I left the dentist office I had a toothache. My dentist said that you never do a root canal as maintenance, and that he thought my tooth would calm down. Well, it has, although I did get a small ulcer around my gum line. This is a bottom jaw tooth that had a mercury filling from 20 years ago. This same dentist had done that filling, and he is well known, and respected. Long story here too, but if it were me, I would not have the root canal since you are not in pain. Talk to your dentist, and see if he agrees you can wait and see. I don't see anything wrong with doing that, but of course he will know for sure. By the way, my permanent crown was made in my dentist office right then by a computer image. I was completley finished in one step.