[T K]

Hi all,

I visited the dentist recently for the first time in seven years (I'm 24). I had had a toothache on and off for a few months. After an X-ray, the dentist said I'd need to get a filling in that tooth, and three other small fillings. The appointment was yesterday, and I'm not very happy with how it went.

Afterwards, she said that she had filled the tooth that had caused the toothache, but that the other teeth which she had been planning to fill now needed three root canals. She said it was either this or extracting the teeth. I've never had any pain in these three teeth before, so I was surprised that they even needed fillings. I was a bit woozy so I didn't really debate this with her. She has already drilled these teeth and put temporary fillings in.

Two of the fillings are too high and hurt when I bite down, so I can't close my teeth properly, or chew food without pain. This isn't as painful as it was this morning so hopefully it'll go away. One of the fillings (the permanent one) is too low, and I can feel the sharp edges of the corners of the tooth. My teeth are quite sore in general today.

I'm going back in to get the height of the fillings adjusted, and to ask a bit more about the root canals. I was just wondering if it seems unusual for a 24 year old to need root canals in three teeth which had given no pain previously? Obviously you can't diagnose over the Internet, but do you think it's worth getting a second opinion? Or is it too late if she's already done the drilling and put in temporary fillings? Also, all three of the teeth are molars and she hasn't mentioned crowning them - just the root canals and fillings. The cost is really adding up...

[T K]

Well, yesterday I had two of the root canals done. The dentist told me afterwards that a file had broken off in one of the roots but that she went ahead and filled it anyway.

She also said that I don't need crowns since the fillings are quite big, and that I can always get them if my teeth crack later. Is this normal?

[T K]

There's also a brown liquid dripping out of one nostril (the one closest to the root canal teeth) since last night. Could this be related to the root canal? I'm going to call the dentist but I haven't got a huge amount of faith in her at this stage.

[Zardoz]

Sounds very fishy .

Root Canals on a molar tooth are more complicated than on other teeth as they have more roots.
Alot of general dentists wont perform root canals on a molar tooth.
Normally one would go to a specialist ,an endodontist to perform such procedures .They have specialist microscopes .
Endodontists arent cheap though,you are looking at 700-900 euro per tooth in the Republic.

She also said that I don't need crowns since the fillings are quite big, and that I can always get them if my teeth crack later. Is this normal?

That sounds crazy.
Molars almost always need to be crowned as a root canal treated tooth is brittle and not as strong as a live tooth.
If its not crowned it can fracture and then it will have to be extracted.

That dentist sounds like a quack.

[fitzgeme]

Yeah agree with Zardoz 100% there, crowns are essential and most teeth crack in a unrestorable way far under the gum. Separated instruments left in teeth are not cool. They can be fine in some circumstances but mostly there not a good thing at all. Bowne liquid down the nose...jeeesss thats not good either, say the sinus lining was perforated and its blood of something. I don't do molar root canal treatment, its far too tricky unless your doing them all the time, and putting a crown on a bad root canal is like putting an expensive house on poor foundations.

[T K]

I phoned earlier about the liquid coming from my nose and they said they don't think it's related, but to come in in the morning to check if it's a sinus infection. I can feel it in the back of my throat too - it tastes a bit like chlorine. I definitely don't think it's blood. It happened three or four times today but it's kind of stopped now.

Originally Posted by Zardoz

That sounds crazy.
Molars almost always need to be crowned as a root canal treated tooth is brittle and not as strong as a live tooth.
If its not crowned it can fracture and then it will have to be extracted.

That's what I thought too - I had done a lot of reading online about root canals and everything I read said that a molar needs a crown. I mentioned that to her and she was very definite that I didn't need one in two of the teeth, but that maybe I'd think about getting one on the third in a few years.

Originally Posted by fitzgeme

Yeah agree with Zardoz 100% there, crowns are essential and most teeth crack in a unrestorable way far under the gum. Separated instruments left in teeth are not cool. They can be fine in some circumstances but mostly there not a good thing at all. Bowne liquid down the nose...jeeesss thats not good either, say the sinus lining was perforated and its blood of something. I don't do molar root canal treatment, its far too tricky unless your doing them all the time, and putting a crown on a bad root canal is like putting an expensive house on poor foundations.

I take it that the sinus lining perforating is a bad thing? Will it heal itself?

I'm really not feeling confident in this dentist so I think I'll make an appointment with another dentist or an endodontist in the next few days.

Thanks for the replies. I have a serious phobia of the dentist and everyone's been convincing me that the dentist knows best and it's just nerves, but I think something's a bit off. I got IV sedation too and I was wide awake for 90% of the procedure. Not very anxious, but very aware of what was going on. Even the fillings are weird - two are too high and one is much too low. I'm surprised, because the practice has fantastic reviews and feedback. I haven't heard anything negative about it.

[Zardoz]

Originally Posted by T K

I phoned earlier about the liquid coming from my nose and they said they don't think it's related, but to come in in the morning to check if it's a sinus infection. I can feel it in the back of my throat too - it tastes a bit like chlorine. I definitely don't think it's blood. It happened three or four times today but it's kind of stopped now.

Could be Sodium hypochlorite aka bleach ,which is used to wash out the canals.
Did the dentist use a rubber dam to isolate the teeth ?

[T K]

I was back in yesterday and she said that there might be a small abscess on the root, allowing the rinsing solution to go into the sinus cavity. The leaking has stopped, but she prescribed a decongestant for me. I'm pretty sure she used a dam at the time. She filed down the fillings and it feels a bit more comfortable now.

I asked her about the IV sedation and why I was so alert, and she says I'm unusually resistant to it - she says she gave me more than 20mg of midazolam, and usually people are totally knocked out after about 4mg. She asked if I've ever used it before, which I haven't.

I woke myself up in the small hours of this morning after biting down really hard - I must have been dreaming. One of the root canaled teeth was very sore after this, and it's tender now when pressure is applied. Hopefully it's just a bit bruised and it'll go away. I'm so paranoid that something is going to happen or that the teeth will have to be extracted! I'm still not really confident chewing anything, though it's not as painful as it was.

[fitzgeme]

Originally Posted by T K

I was back in yesterday and she said that there might be a small abscess on the root, allowing the rinsing solution to go into the sinus cavity.

Nope, too much pressure on the irrigant syringe jammed down the canal forcing solution throught the apex of the root into the sinus, abcesses tend not to break through to the sinus or you would get people with pus coming out their nose.

[username123]

I had a long and torturous root canal earlier this year - the story is on this forum somewhere.

Anyway, I developed sinusitis after each of 3 sessions of canalling. There was blood present after the last session. The endodontist seemed surprised and didnt think the two could be related. The A&E dept I ended up in said they see it all the time. A quick google will tell you thats its reasonably common.

Some of the bleach/chemicals used can leach through cause irritation in the sinus cavity.

Just to note - I do have other unrelated sinus issues and my general sinus sensitivity could have been why I couldnt just throw it off and recover without intervention.

But Id be concerned that a molar tooth was done by a normal dentist and not a specialist.

A piece of instrument was broken off and left in mine as well but the endodontist showed me on the xray, she was able to get around it and clean out the root.

[T K]

Hi all,

Well, it's been nearly two months since my root canals. I had my third (and hopefully final!) root canal done a few days after the first two, and it went a lot more smoothly. They took a couple of weeks to settle down and for me to be able to eat normally, but they were fine after that until the last couple of weeks when I started to have sensitivity problems.

Two of the root canaled teeth seem to be sensitive to hot and cold - one has just fleeting pain, but when the other one is triggered the pain is worse and lasts up to 20 minutes or so afterwards. There's been a mild dull ache on and off in this tooth too in the last couple of days. This is the tooth a bit of a file was left in. I'm wondering if she missed a root or if there's some nerve tissue underneath the file that wasn't removed. Another tooth is sensitive to cold and there's a twinge if I take a deep breath with my mouth open. I'm not 100% sure but I think she replaced a filling in this tooth that would have been about 10 years old.

I'm a bit surprised and very disappointed because I thought after a root canal I shouldn't feel any pain or sensitivity in a tooth. I know that these things happen sometimes so I'm not going to go in all guns blazing or anything but I'm just wondering what to expect. If the root canal has to be redone, would it be normal to charge the full price again? I assume I'd have to pay for the IV sedation again at least. Money is an issue, and it's why I didn't end up going to an endodontist to get things checked out and get a second opinion. She mentioned before that if there were any complications they'd sort it out, and that there was a way of going in through the gum to redo a root canal from the bottom. That didn't sound fun. I just hope the tooth doesn't have to come out! I'll make an appointment tomorrow, though I don't think I'll have time to go until the last week of the month. I'll brush with Sensodyne till then and hope for the best, I suppose!

[Oral Surgeon]

Originally Posted by T K

Hi all,

Well, it's been nearly two months since my root canals. I had my third (and hopefully final!) root canal done a few days after the first two, and it went a lot more smoothly. They took a couple of weeks to settle down and for me to be able to eat normally, but they were fine after that until the last couple of weeks when I started to have sensitivity problems.

Two of the root canaled teeth seem to be sensitive to hot and cold - one has just fleeting pain, but when the other one is triggered the pain is worse and lasts up to 20 minutes or so afterwards. There's been a mild dull ache on and off in this tooth too in the last couple of days. This is the tooth a bit of a file was left in. I'm wondering if she missed a root or if there's some nerve tissue underneath the file that wasn't removed. Another tooth is sensitive to cold and there's a twinge if I take a deep breath with my mouth open. I'm not 100% sure but I think she replaced a filling in this tooth that would have been about 10 years old.

I'm a bit surprised and very disappointed because I thought after a root canal I shouldn't feel any pain or sensitivity in a tooth. I know that these things happen sometimes so I'm not going to go in all guns blazing or anything but I'm just wondering what to expect. If the root canal has to be redone, would it be normal to charge the full price again? I assume I'd have to pay for the IV sedation again at least. Money is an issue, and it's why I didn't end up going to an endodontist to get things checked out and get a second opinion. She mentioned before that if there were any complications they'd sort it out, and that there was a way of going in through the gum to redo a root canal from the bottom. That didn't sound fun. I just hope the tooth doesn't have to come out! I'll make an appointment tomorrow, though I don't think I'll have time to go until the last week of the month. I'll brush with Sensodyne till then and hope for the best, I suppose!

Root canal treated teeth should end up having no vital nerves left in them so should not be capable of causing pain with hot and cold.
It is possible to feel this sort of pain if a canal has been missed. Redoing a root canal treated tooth is difficult and if a canal was missed first time around and a file left then it is unlikely that your dentist will be able to sort it out this time.
Surgical root canal treatment is not the answer to an incomplete conventional root canal treatment as you are simply trying to seal in the dead material from the tip of the root- it'll alway leak out, just a matter of time.

There is a reason why there are specialists in root canal treatment, time to see one I think....

[RUCKING FETARD]

Why are you so against getting the tooth out OP? From my (admittedly small) bit of research on Root Canals, I think I'd rather it out??


Tooth Regeneration can't come quick enough.

[fitzgeme]

Always best keep you teeth, once it's gone you can never get a replacement as good.