Root Canal - Mild Pain / Slightly Loose Tooth 3 months after Root Canal

[Patient928]

Is it unusual to have mild pain and a slightly loose tooth 3 months after a root canal?

I had a root canal performed on my lower right 2nd bicuspid about 3 months ago. The tooth had a deep cavity. There was NO infection, but the dentist had to drill all the way to the pulp and suggested a root canal would be "safer" than just a crown. He indicated that the pulp looked pink and healthy. I was concerned about potential sensitivity since he had drilled so deep and agreed to the root canal. Now I regret it and wish I had just done the crown. Money was not an issue for me.

Ever since the root canal was performed, the tooth is giving me mild discomfort much of the time. One could call it just a very mild toothache, but it's enough to be a distraction and so my mind is on it a lot. When I press the tooth sideways with my finger I can feel it move slightly and there's notable pain from beneath the tooth. Initially, I thought this would clear up within a few days or weeks, but it hasn't. I visited the dentist after 2 months and he ground down the crown a bit more so now there's no contact with the upper teeth. That has not solved the discomfort.

At this point, I plan to get a 2nd and perhaps 3rd opinion soon through consultation with other dentists.

 

[rob wain]

Hi. The ideal time to crown a root-filled tooth is as soon as you can be reasonably confident the root filling is successful. If you wait too long you risk reinfection or tooth breakage but sometimes root-filled teeth do take a while to settle so either approach can be correct under different circumstances.

An elective root filling has a high success rate so an immediate crown is not unreasonable if the root filling went well.

I would advise a second opinion, ideally from an endodontist.

Best of luck.

 

[gentledental]

Might be a missed second canal on the tooth. Try asking your dentist to take another x-ray from a different angle.