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Is this reversible/irreversible pulpitis?

S

shakey

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
34
Hi there,

I had a deep filling in my top molar (last one up the back) about 9 months ago. There was some discomfort after the filling but my dentist adjusted the bite and I was fine. Skip forward 4 months and I chipped the filling, causing pain and my dentist refilled the cavity. This was in November last year. After this last filling it settled some what but then the pain returned 7 weeks later after I had been clenching/grinding my teeth at night.

This pain died down....until ten days ago when I had another grinding session while sleeping.

My dentist has adjusted the bite again as well as my plate/guard that I wear at night. She told me to give it a week or two then contact the endodontist if it hasn't settled.

The tooth isn't sensitive to hot or cold or to tapping. It basically feels like there is pressure in there and I want to take the filling out to give it some air!

Bottom line- I've read about reversible/irreversible pulpitis. Is this what it is and if so, is it the irreversible kind? I am completely freaked out by the thought of root canal but I'm at the end of my rope. How long does it take for a deep filling to heal?

Thanks for reading.
 
Reversible usually involves a bit of sensitivity to hot and cold, short duration and goes away quite quickly when the stimulus is removed.
Irreversible is kind of the opposite, pain tends to go on for longer and sometimes pain happens when the stimulus is removed rather than introduced.

It sounds more like occlusal trauma from your history, so I wouldn't get too worked up about endo just yet. Even so, root canals are pretty easy, I've had 2 done and wouldn't be phased with another :)
 
How does one reverse reversible pulpitis? Just time?
 
Hi Scared,

Having removed any aggravating factors such a high bite, there is nothing more you can do. Pulpitis means inflammation of the pulp (the soft tissue within the tooth consisting of nerves and blood vessels). When the pulp is inflammed, you get symptoms. If the inflammation diappears then so will your symptoms. The problem is sometimes the pulp is just too damaged, and the inflammation gets worse rather than better and root canal treatment is required. I have seen some pulps take years to decide whether they are going to live or die.
Unlike Gordon, I have not have experienced root canal treatment myself. I have carried out numerous root canals on patients over the last twenty years and had very few patients complain of pain during the treatment. If you see an endodontist you should not find it too bad at all, and should stand a very good chance of long term success.

Hope this helps

Lincoln
 
Thanks (and sorry for hijacking original post). I've had pulpitis since October and two dentists said to wait and see if it would be okay, one said immediate root canal so just wondering.
 
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