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Need a root removed but no tooth - eeek

U

upsydaisy

Junior member
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Messages
6
Location
Manchester, UK
Back in May a crown that I'd had for quite a few years came out. It had been hurting off and on for a few weeks but just came out in my mouth one day when eating my breakfast. I hadn't been to the dentist for 3 years as they kept doing scales every 3 months which I hate and I couldn't face going back for more of the same. Here in the UK NHS dentists are hard to come by. If you don't go for 12 months they strike you off their list but I rang them anyway and they agreed to take me back on. When I went for my check up I found the dentist I used to see had left and the one I was seeing now was abrupt and less than sympathetic. He did the checkup then just fired questions at me, wanting immediate answers. In relation to the missing crown he could replace it, do an extraction or something else which I can't even remember. I opted for another crown. I then find out I had to have a root filling first. I was visibly shaking by the time I got into the dentists chair but to be honest it was no where near as bad as I had anticipated. He did the root filling and all the prep work for the crown with an appointment in two weeks to have the crown fitted. When I looked in my mouth I couldn't understand what he was going to attach the crown to as there was no sign of a tooth stub there. I couldn't ask him as his English was very limited and he always seemed stressed himself, let alone me. I remember at one stage actually feeling sorry for him as the dental nurse seemed to be telling him off for not doing the paperwork correctly. Anyway I had the crown fitted and that was that. I opted to pay for the private hygienist to clean my teeth as I knew she would give me injections and to be honest though it would have been free I didn't much fancy the idea of the dentist doing the scale, he was too scary.

2 weeks down the line and the crown came out. Admittedly I was chewing on Nicotine chewing gum at the time but it's not like normal gum, it's very soft and not very sticky so I don't really know if this pulled it out or if it would have come out anyway. I went back and he refitted it. It was also like he did another check up too as he said I needed a filling in another tooth which I thought he'd forgotten about and that I should have another scale and cleaning carried out by him on 2 consecutive days. So just when I thought it was all over he started treatment all over again. By now it was early October. I had the filling done which was OK, the first scale which wasn't too bad then the second one the next day. This was my top teeth and despite the injections it was not painful but more frightening and I worry about the integrity of my front upper teeth as they have suffered quite a lot of gum recession and have big gaps between them that never used to be there. That was back in early October. Since then I have had burning gums and awful sensitivity in my upper front teeth. I've been using Corsodyl mouthwash every night to try to halt the gum disease and have bought Corsodyl gum and tooth paste which is vile - very salty. As for the crown well it lasted about a month and came out again eating a sausage roll, hardly the kind of thing you'd expect to pull your teeth out.

Nearly finished now, don't forget this has been dragging on since May and its now November. In the meantime my husband managed to get on at a different dentist practice and he got me in too. So I went to see a new dentist. He agreed with me that there was no point in fitting the crown again as there just wasn't sufficient tooth to attach it to. He did advise that I should have the root removed though as a root with no tooth can sometimes lead to problems like abscesses etc and referred me to a specialist dental surgeon as there isn't any tooth to get hold of to pull out the root. This scares me. I asked the dental nurse if it was worse than a normal extraction to which she replied she's not allowed to say. It may be difficult is all she could come up with but added that the dentist is nice. :o. So after that massive story, if you've not already keeled over with boredom what I wanted to know is, how is he going to get the root out. I have already rescheduled the appointment from December to January, partly because I don't want Christmas ruined if I get a post operative infection and partly or even probably because it's just an excuse to put the dreaded deed off for a bit longer. Is it really necessary? The gum is very soft where the crown was, but he did take the nerve out and I have had a root filling so won't the root just be OK sat there in my gum. Am I just putting myself through more unnecessary trauma. Plus I worry about the tooth next to the gap, I worry it may disrupt the root to this tooth too and then I would hardly have any teeth left in the bottom left quadrant of my mouth. Added to this is the constant throbbing and burning of my gums after all the scaling and the sensitivity in my teeth, plus the fact that when the new dentist did the check up he said early tooth loss would happen. I am getting seriously depressed after all this and the length of time its been dragging on for. Sorry this has been so long but I am just so fed up and getting really stressed out. It's like I just constantly think about teeth and nothing else. :cry:
 
I'm not a dentist but I was always under the impression that it was easier to remove a root or roots than with a normal extraction. I think they have special instruments to be able to do it.
 
I hope so Tabatha 7, I just can't imagine what it would be like. I imagine it as trying to dig out a splinter. Plus my husband has recently had a double tooth out and the root was massive. The dental nurse kindly asked him if he'd like to take it home with him, for the tooth fairies I presume; though I'd want around a hundred quid leaving under my pillow for the size of that thing never mind sixpence :)
 
If you are localized you won't be able to feel it. Did the tooth fairy come visit him? :giggle:
 
It depends on how much of the root is left. If its all the way up to the gum line, it's easier to remove than if it was fractured halfway down. It's not terribly difficult, but if you're being sent to the specialist I wouldn't worry about it. If they can take out impacted wisdom teeth, your case should be a walk in the park :)

As for leaving it in, I'd get it out if I were you. It's easier to now than later. I hope that helps!
 
Replying from my phone so i'll be brief. Removing roots are actually really easy. I have had 2 roots removed and one was a molar. Have a look in thecsearch function for the forum. You will find lots of information about this. Tomorrow i will be able to post links unless someone does it before me ;)
 
If you are localized you won't be able to feel it. Did the tooth fairy come visit him? :giggle:


Haha, no, there was no way would I have slept in a bed with that under the pillow lol, they're scary looking things and surprisingly heavy. :o
 
Thanks Decan and Coolin, I feel a little bit reassured, still scared though. I can see a little bit of white just inside the hole in the gum surface so hopefully this is the tip of the root. Mind you I was terrified when I realised I had to have a root filling in there and had the nerve removed earlier in the year but it was fine in the end so hopefully this will be OK. I will have a search Coolin but if you get chance some links would be good (nothing too gory though, I am very squeamish). Also with regard to the very sensitive teeth that are causing me so much misery at the moment, I found something on the forums that suggested massaging gums with toothpaste for sensitive teeth and not rinsing it off. I did this last night before I went to bed and again this morning and they already feel much better.
 
This is what I was thinking of..

 
I've read it all now, thank you. I do feel a little better after reading other peoples experiences. I can imagine this is something that causes lots of people concern because as non-dentists we do assume that when a dentist performs an extraction he just grabs hold of the top of the tooth and pulls. Oh well, it's not until after Christmas so I'll let you know how it went. I just hope the rest of my teeth eventually get over all the scaling I had done as they're throbbing away again tonight.
 
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