Needing multiple root canals all of a sudden

[kristi7]

I am losing my mind since all my teeth went nuts all at once. A year ago I had a massive tooth ache- they yanked the wisdom tooth.. then added crowns on too others...went through one of the crowns for a root canal 7 days later..while the other tooth killed me for nearly the entire year. 6 weeks ago it went nuts again...went to a specialist who found they left a 4th root in the root canaled tooth and said the other one needed a rc pronto too. Had an abscess too under the 4th root. It has been 6 weeks, tons of pain and I swear my other side is feeling the same pain now...even my front veneers are throbbing and killing me this entire week. The specialist thinks it could be the main nerve since it went through hell but to me it feels like pain. Trust me root canals suck, are expensive so I don't "want" them I just feel I need to kill most of my teeth in order not to climb the walls. Never had a rc before a year ago, never had tooth problems before and good oral hygiene so what went wrong? Aside from drinking to much orange crush soda I have been good with my habits... Has anyone else had teeth that went crazy out of no where all of a sudden and needed several root canals? The pain is unreal but ppl have a hard time believing me that everything went wrong all at once. Any advice, stories ,,,anything would be appreciated ---- TY

 

[vicki]

Hi and

Sorry to hear that you're in so much pain . Root canal treatment is done for a variety of reasons; usually because the pulp (the very inside part of your tooth which contains the blood supply and nerve tissue etc) has become infected or inflamed due to infection, decay or injury to the tooth. We have a page with some information about root canal treatment here:

Root Canal Treatment FAQs

Get detailed answers to FAQs: Is root canal treatment painful? Why am I sore afterwards? Why do I need a crown? And many more!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

It depends on what's causing your pain as to what the best type of treatment might be; only a dentist would be able to tell you for sure. Root canal treatment is a pretty major thing to do to a tooth and once it's done, there's no going back because it can't be reversed. However, if it's the right treatment for the tooth and it's done properly, then it can get rid of the pain and the tooth can last many years if it's properly restored (with a crown or filling) and properly looked after.

It's not unheard of for people to need several root canals, but it does depend on what's causing the pain as to how it's treated. I had severe acid reflux about 12 years ago which eroded the enamel from the biting surfaces of most of my molars. It wasn't too bad at first because I only had sensitivity to hot and cold, but as things progressed, the pain got worse until it became painful to chew anything other than soft food. About 3 years ago, I started having severe pain in one of my lower left molars and it wasn't eased by painkillers. My dentist at the time tried various things, including bonding fillings to the tooth, but nothing worked, so he suggested a root canal. After I'd had the root canal, the spontaneous pain settled down and I could chew on the tooth again, however things were still very sore whenever I had hot food or drink. The rest of my upper and lower molars remained pretty sore and painful too, although the lower molars were worse.

Several years later, I decided to change dental practices and one of the first things that I was told was that the previous root canal hadn't been done very well and it would need to be re-done before having a crown on the tooth. The previous root canal experience was less than pleasant, so it took my dentist a whole year before he managed to persuade me to let him refer me to an endodontist for the root canal to be re-treated. At the beginning of January this year, I started having spontaneous severe pain in one of my lower right molars which continued to get worse and so my dentist ended up removing some of the nerve from the tooth to relieve the pain, but of course that meant that I needed another root canal in addition to the one to be re-treated.

I went to see the endodontist at the beginning of February this year for the initial consultation and I booked a couple of appointments for treatment. The first treatment appointment was scheduled for the middle of March, but in between the initial consultation and the start of treatment in March, the tooth next to the one that my dentist treated in January, also became extremely painful and so I ended up having the nerve removed from that as well. By the time I went back to see the endodontist in March, I then needed 2 new root canals plus the old one re-treating. I've been having root canal treatment either every week or every other week since March because during this time, I've started having severe pain in several of my other teeth as well. Sometimes, even though it was only one or two teeth which were causing the problem, the pain was spreading throughout all of my upper or lower teeth at times (it's called referred pain and is when the pain from the affected tooth spreads into the teeth next to it as well even though there may not be a problem with those teeth - I think it's something to do with the way the nerves in your jaw work).

To cut a very long story short, I've ended up having 6 root canals (5 new ones plus the old one re-treating). I've still got a couple of appointments to go because one of the root canals needs to be completed and I need the permanent fillings in a couple of the other teeth, but once it's all settled down in a few month's time, I will then have crowns on the teeth. In my case, the pain was caused by pulpitis (inflammation of the pulp inside the tooth) which had been going on for quite a while and had been getting worse, so root canal treatment was really the only option other than losing the teeth. Apart from a bit of soreness in the tooth which needs to be finished and also in a tooth which was recently completed, the root canal treatment has pretty much got rid of my pain completely .

I think it's possible that things can go wrong all at once because they have done for me , however if your pain still continues and given all the problems you've mentioned with the existing treatment, maybe it might be worth getting a second opinion to get to the bottom of what's causing the problem. Root canal treatment isn't something that you want to do lightly; you need to find out what's actually causing the pain before deciding what to do next. You only want root canal treatment if you actually *need* it.

 

[irmemac]

Poor you, I can understand why you want to kill your teeth!

A couple of years ago I was having pain in a tooth. My dentist xrayed and found that the painful tooth was ok but the one next to it had an infection at the base of the root. I had a root canal in that tooth. Shortly thereafter the pain returned in the original tooth. The dentist planned to fill it but during the filling discover it also needed a root canal. I think the first tooth must just have felt left out!

It's awful how sometimes a number of teeth flare up at once. It's as if they all decided to gang up. I have often had everything ok in my mouth, and then when I develop a problem it brings its relatives to the party....

Thinking of you, and hoping your treatment will successfully sort out your problems

 

[kristi7]

Thanks for your stories guys. I have an appointment tommorrow with my root canal specialist ( who is a pretty nice and smart guy) so I hope he can pick up on the problem. When you are in this much pain one starts to look forward to root canals. Taking advil is a good as eating a sugar cube - useless! Hopefully, some of it is referred pain- at least that would be less expensive than say 6 new root canals. Kinda freaking out, since I have a trip booked to Hawaii in 11 days...dental problems usu show up at the worst time. Thanks for your support anyhow

 

[vicki]

When my pain was really bad, none of the painkillers that you can buy without a prescription would work either. In the end, I ended up going to see my doctor who prescribed some stronger painkillers.

If it is referred pain, then once the teeth that are actually causing the problem have been sorted out, the pain should reduce or go away in the other teeth. There are various tests that endodontists (root canal specialists) can do to see which teeth may be the source of the problem. It might be that in your case, they just need to do a bit more investigating to find out what's going on.

Good luck for your appointment; let us know how it goes .

 

[brit]

It's a long shot but have you considered that you might be clenching/grinding your teeth in your sleep? This is especially likely if the pain is severe in the morning. Apparently clenching/grinding can cause the nerves in teeth to die off sometimes.

I have had 2 teeth go at once as well, despite excellent dental hygiene and regular dental checks. It seems to happen more as we age.

Given that you have had 5 root canals, you should also ask them to consider whether you have trigeminal neuralgia.

 

[kristi7]

Well, I was right- things are bad. I had to get 3 ( yes 3 ) emergency root canals a day ago. The specialist calls it unusual but says I have horrible inflamed pulps hence the burning, throbbing, and agony. The wisdom tooth RC still really hurts a day later- the other 2 are a relief. Now it looks like the veneers on my top teeth or next to go. I might end up with anywhere from 2 to 4 new root canals. That brings me to a total of 7 or 9 in a year.. He said big filllings lose the coating - dentin is exposed- pulp inflamed and has to come out. I can't believe they all inflame at once though. I am losing faith with dentists. One left a root in and put a crown over a tooth that needed a root canal a few months back and my new one ( not the RC specialist) covered the 3 teeth with extra filling last week even though I said it was throbbing and I was yelping. The endodontist could not believe she did it even though I urged her to do root canals. The pain hit a perfect 10 and he took me as an emergency and did all the RC at once. The new crappy dentist also told me to bite down on the little carbon paper for the bite when the assistant held the instrument in my mouth. My eyes were closed , she yelled bite, and I did and bit down on the metal with my front veneers. Now they hurt even more then they did then. I'm totally complaining here but its hard to find a good dentist. I want the specialist to do everything now even though its more costly because regular dentists are screwing me up more. Would anyone dare go on vacation with 5 to 7 new root canals ( 3 this week,,2 or more ) on Monday. I am afraid the flight might kill me- I now know that toothaches are the WORST pain ever. I went through actual surgery smoother and did not take the pain killers after. I would have chosen a loaded gun and shot myself yesterday if no one could have relieved the agony... yes,,,that bad..anyone with a severe tooth ache probably knows what I'm talking about. Taking big pain killers and the pain is still there so more root canals to go Seriously, shoot me.

 

[irmemac]

Oh no, this is awful. You've been through a nightmare. I agree that bad dental things happen right before holidays, and after what you've been through you badly need your holiday.

I don't know what to suggest because you have such a lot going on with your teeth, but I hate to hear of you in such pain. I don't think you should stay with your new dentist because you need more care than you've had, and it also sounds like you've had poor treatment previously. Can I recommend you post this in the 'Your Dentistry Questions Answered' section of the forum, because dentists post in there, and you need some professional advice about what to do next, and your holiday.

I feel awful for you - I know the kind of pain you are having very well, and it takes over everything.

 

[irmemac]

Have been thinking, and wondered if you might need antibiotics? Infection might explain the severe pain.

 

[sarahdunn70]

@kristi7 This recently happened to me. I was getting migraines and I thought it might be a tooth that would intermittently throb. They did a dental CT and said it looked good. The headaches, vertigo etc. continued. I insisted my Endodontist drill in. I had a super inflamed root that was not infected, but needed a root canal. I just had my 6th. All the same but 1 that had a root that had been missed at a prior dentist. My Endodontist said I'm her only patient that can tell what tooth it is and presents with no tooth infection. Unfortunately as you said nobody wants a root canal, but to get out of pain it's necessary.

 

[sarahdunn70]

@vicki This was similar to my recent year long situation. 5 teeth on my upper and lower side were needing root canals. No infection, but inflamed roots that caused daily headaches. I just finished my last one and am looking forward to being pain free soon.I wish the same for you.