Question:
Last weekend I was in throbbing pain, and my cheek was swollen by my
nose. I saw the dentist first thing Monday morning & he took x-rays,
listened to my symptoms, & started me on 1750 MG Amoxil/day for ten
days. Nothing showed up on the x-rays & he can't tell if the problem
is a tooth or my sinus. He said that if this is my sinus the
antibiotics should clear it up. If it's my tooth it will not clear up
and I will need a root canal.
I have a tender spot up by my nostril, but my gums feel fine. When my
face was swollen it hurt from my eye to my ear, and all of my teeth
(even the bottom ones that were not touched). And my jaw of late is
very, very sore.
So, my questions are:
1. I have three very sensitive teeth. How would my dentist know
which one to do a root canal on? Does he have to do a root canal on
all three teeth to end my pain?
2. Why would so many teeth in a row require root canals?
3. Can this be because of the drilling he did in August?
4. What happens to a tooth that has a root canal in say, 40 years?
I'm 46 now, what's my prognosis?
5. I will appreciate advice, words of encouragement, and words of
wisdom!
Answer:
@@@There are a variety of tests to determine which tooth is bad. It is
possible that all three teeth could have dead pulps.
Perhaps the teeth already had a history of trauma, decay, fillings,
re-treatments of the fillings, etc. Perhaps the new preparations were more
than the teeth could stand. Possible the teeth were overprepared to get the
alignments into an acceptable range and have good esthetics.
Potentialy, the teeth could last the rest of your life with no problems
(provided the work is done well, the teeth were adequtely strong to begin
with and you maintain them well). Realistically, the RCT makes the teeth
more complex, and there is more things which could go wrong in the future.
As Dr. Steve points out, these are complications that can occur when
dealing with extensive dental treatment on teeth that have already had
quite a bit of trauma over the years.
The biggest problem that I see is that you were not aware of this
possibility. That makes anything that the dentist says now sound like
an excuse instead of an explanation. You should have been better
informed to include the possibility of needing further treatment.
It is also very possible that you are a 'clencher' (you did mention jaw
pain). Get a whole new bite (esp. built in one setting), go home and
clench on it, and something is going to hurt! Prepping 14 teeth while
sedated is fast and convenient, but that doesn't mean it is simple and
easy to execute effectively. I would suggest an NTI.
I finished my ten day run of antibiotics and I still have a sore spot
by my nose and three sensitive teeth. I am not as sore or sensitive
now as before the antibiotics though. My jaw felt better when the
swelling went down, but my jaw pain hasn't gone away by a long shot.
My sore spot is so high that my dentist isn't sure if the problem is
in my sinus or tooth. (I just checked the anatomy pages of my 1960
World Book Encyclopedia, and am convinced that an incurable pituitary
tumor pressing against the root of my tooth is as likely a reason for
my pain as any). What tests can figure out where my pain comes from
before my dentist digs around; possibly needlessly?
By the way, I've learned more about dentistry in two weeks from
reading the posts in this group, than the combined total of all the
dental knowledge I absorbed in 46 years!
