L
laceygirl78
Member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 51
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada
So I apologize in advance, this will be a fairly long post. I am really hoping by sharing my whole story I might be able to get some good advice and relieve some of my anxiety.
First of all I am 39 years old, female. I have never really had any major problems with my teeth except for few large silver fillings on my two upper first molars (left and right side). I have had these fillings for about 30 years now. The whole experience of getting these fillings (when I was a kid) left me terrified of the dentist because I wasn't frozen properly but told to deal with it. Despite the bad experience, I have managed to get to the dentist for all of my regular checkups and have taken really good care of my teeth to avoid having to go through that again.
One day, about 4 months ago, I realized that it hurt to bite on my first upper molar (tooth with giant filling) when I bit on anything hard. At my next dentist appointment (new dentist because I had just recently moved), I was very surprised to find out that I had 5 cavities, albeit not huge ones, and a cracked molar (the one causing the pain). I had no cavities at my last appointment, so I couldn't understand. Anyhow, new dentist recommended a filling in the cracked tooth (cusp had fractured off) and then a crown. If I would have known what was going to happen afterwards, I would have ran out of that office and never went back!
So he did my fillings (including the cracked molar) and everything was great. The cracked tooth stopped hurting and I decided to go for the crown while I still had the coverage. I was absolutely terrified of the whole process but did a good job of dealing with my anxiety. Made it through the scary prep appointment, got my temporary crown placed and as soon as the numbing wore off, things took a turn for the worse.
My tooth started to hurt straight away. But nothing I had ever felt beforehand. It was dull ache, but not unbearable at this point. As soon as I tried eating I was in agony. I couldn't even chew cupcakes without pain. I knew something wasn't right so I went back to my dentist. He wasn't there but his mother (yes, his mother is a dentist too) was and she tried to take off the temp crown to have a look and holy hell did I scream! She immediately numbed me up and although it took 3 needles I was finally comfortable. She adjusted the bite, put it back on and told me to come back in 3 days to see my dentist. She said at this point he would decide if we were going to do a root canal (as it's best to do it before permanent crown placement).
By now I was is horrid pain. My tooth throbbed. I couldn't sleep, eat or think. I was constantly taking extra strength Advil and it was destroying my stomach. I finally got in to see him and he had me bite on a metal thing and asked me if it hurt, it did (especially when I released the bite!) He said it didn't need root canal. He said it was either a bad seal on the temp crown or there was another crack and once the perm crown was on, it would resolve itself. If not we could do the root canal through the crown.
A few days before I was scheduled to do the permanent crown, I started doing my own research (which I wish I had done so much sooner). I decided I wanted a second opinion. At this point, my insurance was maxed out so everything since has been cash out of pocket. I made my own appointment (no referral) behind my dentist's back with an endodontist that came highly recommended by my husband. Paid $100 for the consult. He xrayed my tooth and said that the filling was really close to the nerve and root canal was necessary as my tooth was "hot." WTH. My dentist said it was fine. I was so confused
I went ahead and made the root canal appointment ($1400) and this brought on a whole new level of anxiety. I was such a mess and didn't know who to trust. My husband had to drag me there but I made it through and was really proud of myself! I was really hard to freeze but once I was numb, I didn't feel anything. It was weirdly cathartic to know that that horrible angry little tooth was being killed The endo said that there was still a crack (right to the nerve area) but nothing too bad.
So after the root canal I had the expected level of soreness. However, the endo put my temp crown on wrong and I couldn't close my mouth without feeling like there was bead in between my teeth. I couldn't eat or close my mouth but my appointment for my perm crown was the next day so I dealt.
Then I got a phone call the next day saying my dentist was sick and couldn't do the crown. I was like "um no" I can't even close my mouth, I need to see someone. So his mother saved the day again. This time she took my temp right off and told me is was better to let the tooth breathe for few days. I thought this was weird because my little tooth is so fragile and already cracked, but didn't have much of a choice in the matter.
So I got home and looked at my little mini tooth and figured I would see if it was still sensitive. I took my nail and lightly tapped it and got that familiar "zing" of pain. My heart sunk. The throbbing was gone but obviously the original issue was not resolved. This was two days ago. I left a message with the endo's receptionist to call me back as i would like to discuss this with him before my permanent crown appointment, which is tomorrow.
I don't know what to think? I am so anxious and confused. I feel all alone on this. I am so scared I will have to have this tooth pulled after everything. I feel like I should have never listened to my dentist in the first place. What does it mean when your tooth is still sensitive to percussion after a root canal. Am I doomed?
Should I go for my permanent crown and see if it helps? I couldn't even tell you if it hurts to chew as I am not allowed to chew on that side.
Anyone?
First of all I am 39 years old, female. I have never really had any major problems with my teeth except for few large silver fillings on my two upper first molars (left and right side). I have had these fillings for about 30 years now. The whole experience of getting these fillings (when I was a kid) left me terrified of the dentist because I wasn't frozen properly but told to deal with it. Despite the bad experience, I have managed to get to the dentist for all of my regular checkups and have taken really good care of my teeth to avoid having to go through that again.
One day, about 4 months ago, I realized that it hurt to bite on my first upper molar (tooth with giant filling) when I bit on anything hard. At my next dentist appointment (new dentist because I had just recently moved), I was very surprised to find out that I had 5 cavities, albeit not huge ones, and a cracked molar (the one causing the pain). I had no cavities at my last appointment, so I couldn't understand. Anyhow, new dentist recommended a filling in the cracked tooth (cusp had fractured off) and then a crown. If I would have known what was going to happen afterwards, I would have ran out of that office and never went back!
So he did my fillings (including the cracked molar) and everything was great. The cracked tooth stopped hurting and I decided to go for the crown while I still had the coverage. I was absolutely terrified of the whole process but did a good job of dealing with my anxiety. Made it through the scary prep appointment, got my temporary crown placed and as soon as the numbing wore off, things took a turn for the worse.
My tooth started to hurt straight away. But nothing I had ever felt beforehand. It was dull ache, but not unbearable at this point. As soon as I tried eating I was in agony. I couldn't even chew cupcakes without pain. I knew something wasn't right so I went back to my dentist. He wasn't there but his mother (yes, his mother is a dentist too) was and she tried to take off the temp crown to have a look and holy hell did I scream! She immediately numbed me up and although it took 3 needles I was finally comfortable. She adjusted the bite, put it back on and told me to come back in 3 days to see my dentist. She said at this point he would decide if we were going to do a root canal (as it's best to do it before permanent crown placement).
By now I was is horrid pain. My tooth throbbed. I couldn't sleep, eat or think. I was constantly taking extra strength Advil and it was destroying my stomach. I finally got in to see him and he had me bite on a metal thing and asked me if it hurt, it did (especially when I released the bite!) He said it didn't need root canal. He said it was either a bad seal on the temp crown or there was another crack and once the perm crown was on, it would resolve itself. If not we could do the root canal through the crown.
A few days before I was scheduled to do the permanent crown, I started doing my own research (which I wish I had done so much sooner). I decided I wanted a second opinion. At this point, my insurance was maxed out so everything since has been cash out of pocket. I made my own appointment (no referral) behind my dentist's back with an endodontist that came highly recommended by my husband. Paid $100 for the consult. He xrayed my tooth and said that the filling was really close to the nerve and root canal was necessary as my tooth was "hot." WTH. My dentist said it was fine. I was so confused
I went ahead and made the root canal appointment ($1400) and this brought on a whole new level of anxiety. I was such a mess and didn't know who to trust. My husband had to drag me there but I made it through and was really proud of myself! I was really hard to freeze but once I was numb, I didn't feel anything. It was weirdly cathartic to know that that horrible angry little tooth was being killed The endo said that there was still a crack (right to the nerve area) but nothing too bad.
So after the root canal I had the expected level of soreness. However, the endo put my temp crown on wrong and I couldn't close my mouth without feeling like there was bead in between my teeth. I couldn't eat or close my mouth but my appointment for my perm crown was the next day so I dealt.
Then I got a phone call the next day saying my dentist was sick and couldn't do the crown. I was like "um no" I can't even close my mouth, I need to see someone. So his mother saved the day again. This time she took my temp right off and told me is was better to let the tooth breathe for few days. I thought this was weird because my little tooth is so fragile and already cracked, but didn't have much of a choice in the matter.
So I got home and looked at my little mini tooth and figured I would see if it was still sensitive. I took my nail and lightly tapped it and got that familiar "zing" of pain. My heart sunk. The throbbing was gone but obviously the original issue was not resolved. This was two days ago. I left a message with the endo's receptionist to call me back as i would like to discuss this with him before my permanent crown appointment, which is tomorrow.
I don't know what to think? I am so anxious and confused. I feel all alone on this. I am so scared I will have to have this tooth pulled after everything. I feel like I should have never listened to my dentist in the first place. What does it mean when your tooth is still sensitive to percussion after a root canal. Am I doomed?
Should I go for my permanent crown and see if it helps? I couldn't even tell you if it hurts to chew as I am not allowed to chew on that side.
Anyone?