My second First-time root canal

[EL Alamein]

Ten plus years ago I had two teeth capped on my lower jaw - the same one on both sides, the second from the last molar. At the time I thought I had gotten my first cavities but no. The issue according to the dentist I saw (my wife's) was that I had some how minorly cracked these teeth as if I had bitten down powerfully on something in my mouth that crossed them both. The nerve got exposed causing my painful condition. He supposedly performed root canals on both and capped them.

Fast forward to this week and one of those teeth starts aching intermittently (left side). I went to a local dentist on Wednesday and he said the root was dying. I explained that I had received a root canal oh so many years ago on that tooth as well as it's counterpart across my jaw and that it was not possible for the root to die. He showed me x-rays which refuted this and was adamant that I did not get my advertized root canal. I believed him based on what he showed me and what I could search on the internet. So I conclude I was swindled back in the day and was now paying again for it. Long story short, the tooth abscessed the next day (yesterday) while a snow storm shut every dentist office in this somewhat remote area down for the day. I realized that keeping ice in my mouth next to the jaw completely erased the stabbing pain so I did so until this morning when I got an emergency root canal on the tooth. Blessed relief.

The moral of the story may be that even in this modern age one may have to get a second opinion. If I had gotten the purported root canals I was charged for I would not have had the agonizing experience I had this week coupled with it's expense.

Chris

[Squire]

That's rough man, at least it worked out.

[brothers]

What's amazing is that whatever they did to the tooth 10 years ago worked for that long.

[EL Alamein]

What I'm disappointed about most is that I even had an abscess infection at all. With all the bourbon I drink daily I would think I'm completely disinfected. And of course I only drink for medicinal purposes so I'm guessing I've failed in that. So maybe I need to up the dose?

Chris

[ShadowsDad]

Like Gary, I'm surprised that it didn't cause a problem much sooner. It sounds to me as though the previous dosing for disinfection worked for at least 10 years. Do what you think is appropriate.

Chris, I've had one root canal and my dentist told me at the time that he needed to be sure to kill the root. I'm betting your dentist didn't kill it fully. But I'm not a dentist.

[drmoss_ca]

It's possible to crown/cap a tooth without doing a root canal. And ten years is average lifespan for a crown before the glue fails. If you were billed originally for a root canal/endodontic treatment and you don't have a post sitting in the root canal you were bilked, but it might just be that the tooth needed a crown and the dentist found there was enough healthy tooth when he got in there that the crown could be attached without putting a post in the canal.

IANAD, but simply play one when none are available.

Chris

[fallingwickets]

Glad to hear youre on the mend Chris

clive

[Kyle76]

IANAD, but simply play one when none are available.

Chris

Me, too, Chris! My poli sci major is amazingly versatile!

[EL Alamein]

You guys crack me up. Your sentiments are very much appreciated and I am very blessed to receive them. Thank you, everyone.

Yeah, I was bilked, I think. There was no trace of filling the roots from years ago on the x-ray when I supposedly received my first root canals. Though I distinctly remember the dentist digging out the roots at the time just like this time.

Friday the crown was judged as being still sound and they drilled through it just like it was a full tooth. Anyway, I'm happy and mostly pain free except for the occasional dull ache from the abscess healing while I take the antibiotics.

From here it's onward and upward I hope.

May none of you ever have to deal with anything like this.

Best,
Chris

[Squire]

That's encouraging Chris, glad to hear things are improving.

[JRTASTER]

Aside from childbirth pain, which most of us will never experience, I was told that tooth pain is the worst most of us will ever experience.
Having suffered from acute pancreatitis, I originally thought that improbable. People who have endured kidney or bladder stones will probably
argue with me, but a root canal gone bad, also abcessed, caused me more agony than I would ever wish on my worst enemy.

I guess bourbon is contraindicated with the antibiotics, but I would be sorely tempted to indulge in small medicinal dosages.

Feel better soon, Chris, and watch out for the dentists you use!!

[EL Alamein]

John, thanks so much for the sentiments, they are much appreciated.

I was reading up on the pain from an abscessed tooth and found much the same as you report. Can you imagine what it was like to have something like this before modern dentistry? Or even modern ice-makers (which I made full use of to stave off the pain)? I'm thinking it was quite the inducement to rip out that tooth by whatever means was possible. I know, at times, I was just about there.

I am very appreciative of everyone's kind words and I am doing much better. I just wish this could have been avoided had the original root canals been done as they were purported to have been.

Chris