Tooth question

Mickeynutty

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
I am in pain. A lower back molar had a root canal treatment and crown 2 years ago. All good. About 3 weeks ago I bit down on something very hard and it started to “bother” me. Not terribly painful but when it didn’t go away, I thought I better see the dentist. Unlike before I had the root canal, the pain is in a very specific spot on the top of the tooth.

In order to diagnose the problem, the dentist (on Monday) had me bite and grind the teeth repeatedly to check my bite. Sure enough, it was way too high so she ground it down. The pain later that day was worse. So, Thursday - yesterday - I go to the endodontist that did the root canal. He grinds down a little more.

The bite finally feels right but it aches and sometimes throbs. Endodontist said if this doesn’t take care of it, it will be extraction and implant. He would not advise doing anything else because the tooth is cracked under the crown.

How long do I wait before I get the thing pulled?! The endodontist said he would call and check on me in 2 weeks.

Thanks for any help.
 
How long do I wait before I get the thing pulled?! The endodontist said he would call and check on me in 2 weeks.

I'd say two weeks is plenty, and I'd be getting two weeks worth of pain meds. I'm thinking that a cracked tooth is going to have to go at some point anyway.
 
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IF your tooth is cracked, it's going to have to go at some point, so I'd say the sooner, the better. I have had 3 molars and an upper wisdom tooth extracted over the years, none with an implant. The dentists all say that my bite would shift, strange things would happen to my ability to chew/eat, etc. I've never had the money so never did anything other than the extractions, and my bite is just fine.

Good luck. Tooth pain is awful. If you are gonna wait 2 weeks, get some painkillers.
 
Thank you, both. This is exactly what I am thinking. The tooth’s long term prognosis is not good. I think I will call Monday and see about getting the consult for the extraction. The main reason I feel I probably need to get the implant is I had 3 permanent teeth pulled as a teen before orthodontic work. So, I am down 3 teeth to start with. (And all 4 wisdom teeth were extracted).

Teeth!! What a business.
 


I've had something like that happen, but not with a cracked tooth under it. But the dentist told me that when something like you described happens, it causes trauma to the root of the tooth and it can get swollen and bruised (not sure if he used those exact words or if that's how I interpreted it). Anyway, he advised me to give it a week to see if things would calm down and they did.
 
A week seems reasonable. I’m going to call Monday and express that I think 2 weeks of this pain is too much. Thanks!
 


Run, do not walk, to the store (CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc.) and get some of this stuff. It helps w mouth pain, use as directed. (I was first told about by a hygienist and it helped me a lot one time when I was having pain.)

437650

Also, in this time period while you wait, keep it really clean (floss and bush well around it) and be careful what you eat so you don’t keep irritating it. The pp is correct with the “bruising” and it can take a while to heal. Give it time. If there’s any way you can save it, it’s worth a try.

The two dentists didn’t seem overly concerned about the crack? :confused3
 
Apparently, they were not too concerned about the crack as it was never mentioned to me until when I went in Thursday. Thanks for the tip! I am off to get that rinse!!
 
I would question the need to grind down other teeth to fix problems with the subject tooth. Grinding down good teeth shortens their life.

But I am not a dentist so my opinion is worth less than two cents.

Still, a second opinion would be worth it.
 
I would question the need to grind down other teeth to fix problems with the subject tooth. Grinding down good teeth shortens their life.

But I am not a dentist so my opinion is worth less than two cents.

Still, a second opinion would be worth it.

Just to clarify, the only tooth ground down was the crown on the cracked tooth that has been hurting. Same tooth had a root canal 2 years ago, Thanks!
 
Just to clarify, the only tooth ground down was the crown on the cracked tooth that has been hurting. Same tooth had a root canal 2 years ago, Thanks!
FWIW - for whatever reason when I have work done on my molars - which are in pathetic condition, so many little fillings from my early 20s, I always have considerable soreness and aching afterwards and sensitivity. I just had an old cavity replaced and the sensitivity was really bad for about 3 weeks and is slowly getting better, the aches would wake me up for the first few weeks but are now pretty much gone. I don't know why I have so much residual pain after getting work done, but it is almost guaranteed that I will hurt for a monthish after a filling on my molars. After that it goes away and things are completely back to normal - at least for a few years until they decide to replace another old filling lol.
 
It's odd that the tooth hurts given that the root is dead. I'm not sure where the pain would be coming from unless it was irritation/inflammation of the pocket surrounding old root. It must have shifted from biting down on it. I have one that's 45 years old. I amazed it's still there. I broke it off completely but they managed to place a post down into it and put another crown on it. That was questionable. Lately, I have felt some discomfort, not really pain, and I suspect I bit down too hard on a lifesaver.

Tooth pain is horrible. And it's often hard to isolate.
 
I went back to the endodontist this afternoon - told them I did not want to wait another week. He believes the molar has split in two and needs to come out. At this point, I am ready to do whatever is necessary to get relief. Should find out tomorrow when the oral surgeon will extract it. Yuk!
 
Just an FYI

I had a crown break as well. I knew I needed implant and honestly was terrified. I've heard horror stories of the healing process and subsequent drill into bone from a few folks. My oral surgeon suggested that we put the implant in right away instead of waiting for a heal and then having to drill back in. He said if it doesn't take, then the cost to do again is on him. I figured I had nothing to lose. It went so smooth, minimal pain and it took just fine. I had my crown put on about 10 weeks later. Been a couple of years and zero issues.
 

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