My dental fears

[superjen]

I fear that no matter what I do my tooth will always hurt. I fear a root canal won't help get rid of the pain. I fear this is the beginning of a lifetime of dental issues. I fear a root canal and crown will cause pain on other teeth because my only other crown was one of the most traumatic and painful things I have ever experienced. I fear if I do get a root canal a crack will be found and the tooth will need to come out. I fear I will never smile again.

So in searching for answers I've been to 2 dentists and an endodontist. All 3 found no issues. So I hurt, I cry, I lose 20 pounds, and I can't call my dentist because his only solution is root canal, and he doesn't care about my fear.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi, it sounds as if you've really done your best to get advice regarding what sounds like a really frustrating and upsetting situation. Maybe you could try a prosthodontist for a fourth opinion? If the endo thinks the nerve is fine, then there's not much point in going along with your general dentist just for the sake of it... maybe it's just that your bite is off somehow, and a prosthodontist might be able to help with this.

Apologies for moving your other posts to the general dental questions section, but no dentist here is going to be able to give better advice than what the dentists who have already examined you in person (and your x-rays) have been able to give. The only way to perhaps get to the bottom of this is having another dentist physically look at it, preferably someone who is highly qualified.

 

[superjen]

I do appreciate your input and recommendation. The prosthodontists in my area seem to advertise and specialize in implants. That scares me because to them losing my tooth is probably not a big deal. Do they also specialize in bite problems? I'm also not sure my tooth can handle any more drilling. I also wonder if the nerve could be dying but still respond properly to all the endodontics tests.

 

[Enarete]

Hi superjen,

so sorry to read about your ordeal. Sounds like a huge thing not only anxiety-wise, but also how it affects your ability to eat and also your weight. It seems to me that it set of quite a spiral of fears about the future.
Reading about your fears, I was wondering what would be the outcome you're looking for? It seems to me that you have anxiety about any treatment at this point.

All the best wishes

 

[superjen]

I would like to be able to use my teeth to chew again. If I knew a root canal would stop the pain, then I'd do it. I wish I had a dentist who cared to get to the bottom of what is causing my pain. I appreciate your support.

 

[Enarete]

My heart goes to you.

I had a tooth that was causing me pain whenever I bit on it. It was a tooth that never had problems before and was untreated. My dentist tested everything and couldn't find anything. He suspected there must be a crack somewhere where it can't be well seen. The course of action was: trying a filling and seeing whether it helps, if not, possibly a crown, if not, a root canal treatment as a tooth without nerves can't hurt anymore. I was ready to go that route. Not happy and not anxiety-free, but what did I have to lose? If the tooth would keep hurting, I would be at the same place I was already anyway, but there was still a chance that it may help. The tooth ended up to calm down after the filling already, thank goodness.

As sad as it is, sometimes there are no clear answers and in dentistry, like in medicine general, there are no guarantees about the success of any treatment whatsoever. With that being said, most often than not, treatments help. To me it looks like you need a dentist that makes you feel cared for and makes you feel more confident in your choices about what will happen to the tooth. Letsconnects idea about checking the bite sounds like a good one to me. You will have enough time to walk away if anyone suggested extraction and an implant (which is BS btw., root canal treatment would be the first thing to try out). Maybe there is another professional who can focus on checking your bite?

 

[superjen]

"No clear answers" is hard for me since dentists have so much training and experience and can still sometimes be stumped. I think I'll take next week to enjoy a family vacation and then when we return I will start calling around to find the best professional to check my bite. Thanks for caring.

 

[superjen]

Update- after lots of pain while on vacation I scheduled a root canal for today. Dentist wasn't sure it would help after re-reading the endo's report. Tried to numb me but I still felt the pain so he concluded that a root canal may not help. I'm trying steroids and have a referral to a neurologist. Meanwhile I'm in pain. I'm frustrated. And I'm terrified.