Post root canal temporary crown sensitive to cold

[LauraQ68]

I had an RCT on #3 and #30 two weeks ago. Temporary crowns were placed last week and I'm scheduled to go in for permanent crowns tomorrow. However, tooth #30 is very sensitive to cold. The temp crown does not cover the entire tooth, so I'm hoping the sensitivity will resolve once the permanent crown is placed. Of course, I'm freaking out about a failed root canal because everything I read says a tooth with RCT should not be sensitive. Help calm my nerves...is this normal?

 

[TKB1974]

Have you called the endodontist that performed the root canal? He/she may want you to come in to check on it if you’re still having cold sensitivity. It looks like there are several reasons that this could be happening. It would probably ease your worries to have it looked at prior to the permanent crown being placed.

 

[LauraQ68]

Have you called the endodontist that performed the root canal? He/she may want you to come in to check on it if you’re still having cold sensitivity. It looks like there are several reasons that this could be happening. It would probably ease your worries to have it looked at prior to the permanent crown being placed.

The endo is only at my dentist's office twice a month. I will definitely be talking to the dentist tomorrow before he places the crown.

 

[TKB1974]

P.S. I did have some sensitivity around my temp crown (and my permanent one) but not to cold or heat. I was told that it can take a bit for everything to “settle.”

 

[Sarah77]

Let us know how it goes, Laura!

 

[LauraQ68]

The crown placements went well today! The dentist spent a lot of time fitting and sanding so my bite was comfortable. He said the sensitivity is from the inflamed gum tissue and some exposed root and should improve with the crown. Whew! Now, I have a cleaning scheduled for next week and we’ll see what other problems there are. I will report back!

 

[BlacJAC]

According to my endo, a properly rct'd tooth should not have sensitivity to either hot or cold. I had the same issue and my dentist told me it was the gums. It wasn't, it was a missed canal. It's the nerves in the tooth that give you those sensations to temperatures, not the gums. Using that logic, you either have a missed canal or it's another tooth. As for an exposed root, why would that be sensitive if there were no nerves in the tooth? Root exposure causes discomfort on a vital tooth because the root contains a live nerve. Rct teeth can cause discomfort or pain, but it's different from a vital tooth.

A dentist may come in and correct me, but I'm parroting what my endo stated.

 

[LauraQ68]

I believe you. However, the tooth next to my RCT'ed tooth is tilted over and it looks like this is the cause of the sensitivity. It's not the tooth that got the RCT, it's the one next to it. <sigh>