I *may* need root canal treatment...Stressed out!

[pearlygirl]

I'm 26 years old and a recovering dental phobic. The phobia started after a very bad experience with getting 3 fillings when I was 8 years old. I still have 2 of those fillings; the other one was in a baby tooth so it's long gone. A couple of months ago I went to a new dentist for a checkup because I'd been getting pain in one of the filled teeth. The filling, which was silver, was on the top surface of the second last molar on the left side of my bottom jaw. Every time it was exposed to something hot or cold, I'd get an electric shock. The dentist said it probably needed to be replaced, so he replaced that one and the other one with white composite fillings. When he was drilling out the old filling from the molar that kept giving me an electric shock feeling, however, he discovered that the filling was very deep, almost to the nerve. He then said that he was concerned that the temperature sensitivity I'd been experiencing could actually be from the nerve dying and not from the filling being old. He put a new filling in anyway and said that he'd monitor it. I have my next appointment in 6 months.

So it's been almost 2 months since I got that filling replaced and I am still experiencing a lot of temperature sensitivity in that molar. However, since getting the filling replaced with white composite, the pain has changed from being an electric shock feeling to being a dull ache. Whenever the tooth is exposed to anything cold, I feel an ache spreading over the top surface of the tooth and then the inside of the tooth starts to ache also. The worst of the pain lasts for several seconds, then the pain decreases to a lesser pain that continues for a minute or so. There is also a small amount of sensitivity to very hot foods/drinks. Otherwise I am not having any other symptoms and the gum around that tooth looks normal.

I guess my question is, what do you think? What are the chances that I'm going to need a root canal in this molar? I have never had a root canal and I am scared. Also, the fact that all this is happening in a tooth that was linked to the beginning of my phobia in the first place is kind of distressing. It's dredging up all these memories from the bad experience I had when I was 8.

If my dentist tells me at my next checkup that I need a root canal, I'm thinking of getting a second opinion from an endodontist. I'd like to avoid root canal treatment if possible, or at least put it off for as long as possible.

Thank you for any insight that you are able to give!  

 

[ldmil76]

Re: I *may* need root canal treatment...Stressed o

Hi pearlygirl,
I just had a root canal last week on a lower right molar. Like you, it had a deep silver filling, and was sensitive to cold (same electric shock feeling). Just like you, the dentist that put in the initial filling said that it was a deep one, and that eventually I may need a root canal.

Well, 5 years went by, and still the tooth only acted up now and then in response to something cold. After finding my new dentist (who I love by the way), he said that that tooth now had an abcess at the root and would need root canal treatment. It wasn't hurting, and the gum around the tooth looked fine. No swelling, or puffiness or anything. He said that due to the depth of the filling, that the nerve would have died on its own, which is INCREDIBLY painful. The sharp jolt pain I was getting periodically from cold stuff was the beginning of what could have been a very painful situation. Luckily, my dentist caught it in time, and I didn't have to suffer through a dreadful toothache or risk losing the tooth to extraction.

I don't mean to alarm you with any of these details, I just wanted you to get a glimpse at someone else's experience so you could compare it to your own. Also, it's totally cool to get a second opinion. I did have a dentist in the past who seemed to be root canal happy. He always suggested them...I quit going to him, and my other dentists would say that a root canal wasn't necessary, just a filling...go figure.

As far as the root canal procedure, they are so common these days, that they aren't much worse than a typical filling, as long as you have a good dentist that knows how to numb properly. Mine went really well, and the tooth is fine now. If you have any questions about the procedure or anything else, please feel free to ask.

Take care, and try not to stress (I know, I know, much easier said than done).
Laurie  

 

[pearlygirl]

Re: I *may* need root canal treatment...Stressed o

Hi Laurie,

Thanks for your reply. And thanks for being honest - I'm just happy to get any kind of info at the moment, good or bad.

I've had that deep filling for 18 years and it never caused any problems until recently. I guess I've been lucky to go that long without mishap? You said that you were only getting cold sensitivity periodically...Well, I get it EVERY TIME the tooth is exposed to cold. I'm guessing that's not good?

A couple of days I started using Sensodyne...I'll see if that makes any difference to the sensitivity. Apparently Sensodyne takes a month to work.

That's scary that you had an abcess without any gum symptoms. How did your dentist diagnose it then? Would it show up on an xray? At my last checkup, a couple of months ago, my dentist did an xray (a routine thing that he likes to do once every few years) and didn't see any problems. Maybe I should ask him to do another one when I go for my next checkup?

I'm glad that your root canal was an uneventful experience. The more I read about them, the more they seem like no big deal, which is comforting. I've heard that if you get root canal treatment done on a molar, you have to get a crown as well. Did you get one? Did you choose a porcelain or gold one? I think the gold ones sound better but are they a lot more expensive than porcelain?

Thanks once again for the info!

 

[lilone]

Re: I *may* need root canal treatment...Stressed o

Your post made me wonder how long fillings last. Is 18 years standard? My first one was 11 years ago and I haven't lost any yet. I'm afraid though because one that was done about 6 years ago was done on a back lower tooth. The dentist had a sensor thing that gave you a number percentage for the depth of the cavity. Mine was at thirty, yet when he drilled, he exposed the root. His assistant noticed it and told him. All he said was "well, what is that doing way up there?!". Then he put some yellow stuff on it and filled it. He said it may need a root canal if it acted up in 24 hours. It was fine...no problems at all. Now my fear is that this filling will need to be replaced at some point. I was kinda hoping I'd have it for life! lol! I can't imagine it being replaced and not needing a root canal when the filling is down to the root. Now I'm even more afraid of fillings, knowing that my roots are up high. Root canal is my ultimate phobia, not so much because of pain, but because of shame, strangely.

 

[ldmil76]

Re: I *may* need root canal treatment...Stressed o

Hey pearlygirl,
Yes, my abcess showed up on the x-ray as this grayish area around the root of my tooth. My dentist saw it right away, but I couldn't really see it. I will eventually be getting a crown on that tooth. Right now I am just focusing on getting the main things finished (fillings, etc.). Crowns are expensive, so I will have to take care of that later. I have read that gold crowns can cost twice as much as porcelain. I have no idea how much mine will cost, but my dentist uses Chairside, Economical Restorations of Esthetic Ceramic (CEREC) for crowns. It only takes one visit and the result is a durable, natural-looking crown. For more info on CEREC, have a look here:

CEREC and Digital Dentistry

What is CEREC? Find out about the pros and cons of CEREC and digital dentistry, and how they compare to a normal crown process.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

No, I am not a CEREC salesperson, I just think it's a pretty cool option. Anyway, take care of yourself and let me know how things go.
Laurie


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