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Please help? Booked in for a root canal tomorrow. Sprained tooth?

B

Bikerchick

Junior member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
4
Location
England
My dentist says I have a sprained tooth LM6. I went to her for the first time to have a big filling inlay replaced Nov 18. I had had previous pain with the filling before. After she did it, It was initially pain free despite previously having problems. As time has gone on, it has got worse. It hurts to eat hard food. I have a constant “dull ache” in my gum every second of the day. She says a root canal will not help me but has booked me in for one as I cannot live like this. The filling is close to the nerve when I look at the X-ray. I would say it’s touching but she is adamant it’s not close enough to cause a problem. I don’t know what to do. I can pin point exactly where the pain is on the tooth at the back. I have had my bite checked so many times with the filling and she has shaved half my tooth down as a last resort, aswell as the one above.
root canal? Sprained tooth?- what do I do?? Crack??
she says clinically nothing wrong with it.
 

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Hello,
I am not a dentist but can share my experience with you. I had a tooth with multiple fillings in it that I had broke a filling in (a couple of times) and had to replace. After replacing the filling the last time, I began having pain/sensitivity (mostly to hot/cold) and there was just a general ache. After messing around with my bite and still having issues with the tooth she sent me to an endodontist to be assessed for a possible root canal. The endo diagnosed the tooth with acute pulpitis (this can happen from bacteria/infection OR in my case, repeated trauma to the tooth). There was no obvious need for a root canal looking at the X-ray. The decision was made purely based on symptoms from tests run on the tooth pulp but in the end, the root canal did solve my problem and that tooth has not given me any issues since. Not sure if this helps but sounds like a similar scenario to mine.
 
That’s interesting but the fact you have hot and cold sensitivity really does suggest your nerve is irritated. I have no extreme sensitivity really. Drink really hot tea. Have constant face ache all the time. My only pain is on biting hard things which my dentist is adamant is ligament pain and not nerve pain. I do however feel hopeless living with chronic face ache ? Dentist feels a root canal is very extreme and the last resort and wants me to continue as I am Because she thinks it will come and go. She thinks a root canal won’t get rid of the pain cuz it’s in the ligaments.
 
From what I know and my experiences, sensitivity from large fillings should only last about 2 weeks. If symptoms continue to persist, there is something more going on and will not likely settle down on it’s own.
 
have You heard of TMJ or Bruxism or periodontal ligaments?
 
Yes I’ve heard of all of them. But if you weren’t having symptoms prior to the filling it’s likely not either of those as they are chronic conditions. Maybe you should see another dentist, just for a second opinion or an endo since they specialize in this sort of thing.
 
They will just say a root canal even when my nerve is healthy with no symptoms. Then I could be in a worse mess so I’m scared to do that. And the tooth will be brittle and I could end up with no tooth
 
That’s interesting but the fact you have hot and cold sensitivity really does suggest your nerve is irritated. I have no extreme sensitivity really. Drink really hot tea. Have constant face ache all the time. My only pain is on biting hard things which my dentist is adamant is ligament pain and not nerve pain. I do however feel hopeless living with chronic face ache



Dentist feels a root canal is very extreme and the last resort and wants me to continue as I am Because she thinks it will come and go. She thinks a root canal won’t get rid of the pain cuz it’s in the ligaments.

I don’t know if this will help but I had an old filling replaced with a white filling. And ever since then I’ve had pain when biting down on that particular tooth. No sensitivity. It was filled three months ago. Dentist also could not find anything clinical wrong and says the nerve is healthy. It did not hurt prior to the filling. So I don’t know what gives, but there is a thread about it. I’ve followed up with someone through messages and they said the pain eventually went away on its own after months. It’s super annoying, and I’m sorry you are going through something similar. I would not do a root canal if your dentist says the nerve is healthy. Maybe try redoing the filling? That’s my next step if it doesn’t go away by my next cleaning.

Old thread can be found here:

https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/forum/threads/sharp-pain-when-chewing-after-white-filling.24941/
 
I suspect Sprained Tooth Syndrome. If you keep aggravating that particular tooth, it would not get better and you will get indefinite recurring pain. Simple action like speaking, chewing and swallowing is enough to keep on irritating it.
 
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