Damaged top filling on molar with previous root canal treatment

Escapees

A tooth which I had root canal treatment done on years ago has started to get sensitive when biting on very hard things or chewing gooey stuff. It's been on and off for the last month or so, but I noticed recently that the filling on the top is chipped away a bit and cracked across also. Not sure if filling is the right word here, but I mean the final layer of material that was used to top off the tooth. I'm hoping it's just a case of getting the filling replaced but does it sound like it might be a bigger job?

It seems to be getting sensitive lately during the night and I'm noticing it when clenching my teeth first thing in morning. But it's fine then most of the time. Wishful thinking, I know!!!

Dianthus

If it has fractured above, or only 1-2mm below, gumline, it should be restorable. (Ideally all root canal treated teeth should be crowned)
If it's a vertical root fracture, it's unrestorable & will need to be extracted.
Either way, if you're clenching your teeth on waking in the morning, ask your dentist to construct you a hard splint (mouthguard) to minimise the risk of further damage to this tooth& other teeth.
Try to get to a dentist asap! Best of luck

Escapees

Dianthus wrote: »

If it has fractured above, or only 1-2mm below, gumline, it should be restorable. (Ideally all root canal treated teeth should be crowned)
If it's a vertical root fracture, it's unrestorable & will need to be extracted.
Either way, if you're clenching your teeth on waking in the morning, ask your dentist to construct you a hard splint (mouthguard) to minimise the risk of further damage to this tooth& other teeth.
Try to get to a dentist asap! Best of luck

Thanks. I'm only clenching my teeth in the morning because the tooth doesn't feel right - it kind of feels like I've just got a filling that's a bit too proud and a bit sensitive when I bite or clench. Then it goes back to normal after I get up and eat! Guess I still need to get to a dentist anyway...

Edit: So, had a proper nose at the tooth just now, and low and behold, there's a vertical crack running down the centre of the side! Plus possibly another crack running across the side... Feckit!

Escapees

A follow-up question... Leaving the whole implant versus bridge debate to one side, I've noticed that the price of bridges listed online for some chains is similar to the price of a crown (e.g. 600 bucks). But you'd think that a bridge involves at least twice the work?!

Is it the case that for a bridge, you have to pay the price of a bridge PLUS two crowns for the adjacent teeth (so say 1800 bucks in this example)? Or are bridges just good value for money compared to a single crown?!!

btkm8unsl0w5r4

A bridge will be priced per unit, a bridge typically that replaces one missing tooth will have 2 or 3 units.

Escapees

OP here - just thought it would be nice to follow up on this and put the thread to bed, so... it turned out (in the end!) that the tooth in question was indeed unrestorable as it also had an underlying infection. Tooth sadly gone now... But thanks to posters for the advice!

Lesson in life with teeth: A stitch in time...

Honestly, I wish they'd drilled that into us at school, especially when it comes to teeth. Instead I was brought up to wait it out and only seek dental/medical assistance if or when it became serious.

/Thread