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Pain after crown preparation

E

esseff

Junior member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
8
My tooth was prepped yesterday for a crown - root canal was not needed. The moment the anesthetic wore off I experienced an intense tooth-ache which is still present, although it has lessoned a little. Biting on the temp crown is too painful. My only experience prior to this is having root canal first. Is it normal to feel this pain and how long can I expect it to last?
 
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Sounds like the temp crown may be leaking a bit. I'd give your dentist a call.
 
Thanks for that Gordon.

I was wondering what you mean by leaking?
 
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Not sealed sufficiently therefore allowing stuff to leak through into the tooth underneath.
 
I went back to the dentist as you suggested. He did mention leakage and chose to apply a fluoride treatment to deal with the sensitivity. I'm just not sure about this decision though. I'm in constant pain - not terrible but it's always there, a sort of throbbing around the jaw where the muscle is, spreading up to the ear. I can't bite on anything like a firm pear or an apple as I get a sharp pain on the left side of the tooth, but I can eat softer or pre-chewed food without this pain. By the time I've finished eating, even if I've been really careful, the pain has turned into a proper toothache, and stays that way for about 20 - 30 minutes until slowly returning to this lesser background throb. It never goes away completely.

I know it's only been 4 days since the tooth was prepared, and I should expect some settling down to occur, but would these symptoms indicate something more, like a small crack in the tooth for instance, or is it too soon to tell? If I let room temperature water touch it I get a sharp sensitivity pain on the left side. Is this the nerve getting inflamed during chewing causing sensitivity, or sensitivity inflaming the nerve causing it to be painful when biting? I'm just really worried that I'll end up having the crown put on only to discover that the biting/toothache pain doesn't go away and I need a root canal. Wouldn't it be better to find this out before the crown is fitted? Wouldn't the crown be compromised if it has to be done afterwards?
 
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In answer to your question about root canals and crowns, you can have a root treatment through the back of a crown (I did). I had no problems with mine, but then again I would have my endos babies he is so good at what he does lol.

But really you can have probs with temps and then they go away when a crown is fitted. I was really really worried because when I last had crowns done the dentist checked the fit and then was not happy so he took the temps off and then put them back on for another week or more while the crowns were sent back. When he put the temps back I started to have pain and throbbing and all sorts after I ate and at night. They had felt fine before. I was fretting about my rct failing and he did do an xray and said it was all fine. But it really did feel like an infection starting. But when the crowns went on my teeth hurt for about a day and a half and then - nothing. And nothing since. So as long as the crown itself is well made and well fitted you will hopefully be ok.
 
Thanks for sharing that Annie.
 
It hasn't got any easier. I'm still unable to bite down as I get a sharp pain. I'm taking painkillers regularly (400 mg Ibuprofen + 1000 mg Paracetamol), yet they're not taking away the pain completely. I'm also waking up during the night needing more. The Crown won't be fitted until July 4th (unless a cancellation arises after June 8th). Shouldn't there be some sign of things settling down by now? I can put up with heightened sensitivity, I can even put up with some pain on biting, but living with constant pain/toothache, and it's been almost a week, is getting really difficult. I don't know what to do.
 
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Went in Friday to have the crown put on. The dentist said the problem had been leakage. When he took the temp off he said everything still looked very sore, even though it's been 3 weeks since the prep was done. Due to gum recession he'd had to make the prep very deep in order to cover this area. Even though the gum isn't as sore as it was on Friday; it doesn't bleed anymore when I use dental floss, I'm still experiencing pain and pain killers aren't having much effect. Is this normal? Would this kind of prep take a long time to heal and as a result keep the nerve enflamed until it does? I'm just really worried at the idea of needing root canal in order to stop the pain. I'd really appreciate it if a dentist could give me an opinion.
 
it may be a while before there is a dentist here, but from my own experience you have only just had the crown put on so it may take time to settle. If the tooth needs root treatment it usually hurts higher up in the gum line & there will be a sore spot, sometimes a bump and sometimes it doesn't really hurt but feels weird. Maybe you have just bruised the root with all the problems you had with the temp. Bruised roots can be really painful and can take a week or two to get better. A bruised root is like real pain like stubbing your toe pain, but a dying root is weird feelings and deeper radiating strange pain, more like knocking your funny bone or having an insect bite. I assume he made sure your bite was ok and that you are not grinding on it at night? Grinding can cause real pain like bruising, but it's easy to fix.

But you should be able to talk to your own dentist about your concerns and ask what symptoms you can have with leakage. It's good news that your gum is no longer bleeding. I reckon most dentists would observe the tooth for at least a few days to see if it settles. But hopefully zz or gordon can give you a more informed response about what the actual problem may be.
 
it may be a while before there is a dentist here, but from my own experience you have only just had the crown put on so it may take time to settle. If the tooth needs root treatment it usually hurts higher up in the gum line & there will be a sore spot, sometimes a bump and sometimes it doesn't really hurt but feels weird. Maybe you have just bruised the root with all the problems you had with the temp. Bruised roots can be really painful and can take a week or two to get better. A bruised root is like real pain like stubbing your toe pain, but a dying root is weird feelings and deeper radiating strange pain, more like knocking your funny bone or having an insect bite. I assume he made sure your bite was ok and that you are not grinding on it at night? Grinding can cause real pain like bruising, but it's easy to fix.

But you should be able to talk to your own dentist about your concerns and ask what symptoms you can have with leakage. It's good news that your gum is no longer bleeding. I reckon most dentists would observe the tooth for at least a few days to see if it settles. But hopefully zz or gordon can give you a more informed response about what the actual problem may be.

Thanks for that Annie. It can be quite hard speaking to my dentist as English is not his first language. I live in Cornwall where an NHS dentist has been quite hard to find (I had to spend 2004-2007 without one) so that's why I'm here.

I accept that the trauma the tooth has gone through is likely to be the cause of the problem now, and hopefully time is all that's needed for it to settle. It can be hard describing what kind of pain I have. It's not decay or abscess pain that's for sure. What troubles me a bit is that the painkillers (Ibuprofen/Paracetamol) are having no effect. A little relief would be nice while I wait.
 
I'd expect it to have settled down by now if the crown was placed last week. I'd also be a bit worried that painkillers weren't having any effect. If it's still the same I think you need to go back to the dentist.
 
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