Root Canal.Dentist contradicts, can't have 1 alive root..

[Alex Holmes]

So I am normally quite good with the dentist and have never had to much worry, but my upcoming appointment in 15 days is honestly of a very high concern to myself. I previously had a root canal on my back molar when my dentist found that there was a large amount of decay on a tooth, he then went ahead and did a root canal to "save the remaining tooth". I had no problems with it until around a year later (a week ago) part of the tooth fell away. I went to the dentist in my current area who I have been to before (my opinion of them was very high), they told me that on inspection the root canal had become "mushy" due to the canal not being sealed from tooth decay (there was no crown on the tooth). I decided to go with the advice of my current dentist that it was best to replace the root canal, however I made clear to them that my previous dentist who had preformed the operation had kept the nerve alive (saved it). During the root canal being removed I experienced great pain and made this clear.. On finishing I was told that the pain is an indication when the dentist has reached the end of the root, as according to my current dentist the pulp/nerve should be dead. She said something along the lines of a tooth has 3 sets of nerves and that if one does the rest die, and therefore she couldn't understand why I felt lots of pain.. When she did an x-Ray she found that she had not reached the end of my root and therefore this justifies that something is not right with her logic.

please please someone give me something I can go on here, as I'm not sure if I should get a second opinion.. Go ahead with it (with pain killer, with the risk of going further than the root ( as according to her when their is pain you have gone past the pulp..)) I'm sorry for my terrible explanation.

Hope someone can get back to me soon, thanks!

 

[carole]

Hi a rct should be totally pain free. The rct removes the nerves and cleans the canals out which are filled so the tooth is in fact dead after this procedure. A back rct'd tooth usually has a crown put on it as they are left in a weakened state and prone to breaking. A crown forms some protection and strength for the tooth.

I had a hard time trying to understand what your dentist was on about but it doesn't sound right to me. When they do a rct they usually use a dental dam and when they think they have got to the root tip they take an x ray to check that there is no nerve left in there. Any bit of nerve left will give you a lot of pain until it is re-treated correctly.

I would find a different dentist or if you can afford it go and see an endodontist they specialise in doing rct's and know what they are doing. You stand more of a chance of success if you see a specialist.

 

[Alex Holmes]

Hi Carol,

thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

Thats what hat my latest dentist is saying, that the root should all be dead.

However i clearly remember the dentist I had before saying that he was removing the dead nerve from the living and therefore that's why when I had a root canal removal yesterday.. It was extremely painful, and when it was x-Ray'd you could see all the old root canal had not yet been removed..

It it might be best to take your advice and see a specialist.

 

[carole]

Yes see a specialist. Even if the nerve is live the treatment should not hurt. They should make sure you are completely numb.

Good luck to you