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Scared of another root canal

J

Jen77

Junior member
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
Messages
6
So on December 15th I went in for a few fillings and for a crown prep. The fillings went fine, then he got all the decay out of the last molar on the bottom that needed the crown. As he went to shape the tooth he hit the nerve and I went through the roof, he said it needed a root canal. He added more stuff to numb it, but I felt a lot of the pain. It went on for 2 1/2 hours, and I can say one of the worst things I've ever been through.

It's been a few weeks, and I'm still wearing the temp crown (gotta love the holidays). Sometimes I still get some little pains in the area, so that's had me worried.

But now I'm also getting pain in between two of my teeth in the front on the bottom. I know I have more cavities that need filled. Just haven't had a chance to get in the chair again. He didn't seem to think any of my other teeth were in bad shape, besides the one that I had crowned. So I don't know why I'm getting pain now? Did it really go bad that fast? I'm scared to death to do another root canal. The thought leaves me in tears.

I have another spot that meat is getting stuck between the premolar and the first molar. Which leaves the gum painful when I floss it out. Like the gap between those teeth are too big. I don't know if that's another cavity?

I'm at the point where I'm only eating once a day. I'm scared to eat on any of these teeth. I'm traumatized from the first root canal and I know I need more work. My dentist has been closed most of the last two weeks because of the holidays. I'm calling them on Monday.
 
You're making the classic mistake here. I've made it several times. Namely, the mistake is assuming that every other tooth is going to have the same behavior and same outcome as the first - or, should I say, the worst.

I have an incisor that I've had terrible problems with over the years - all due to impact with very solid objects. I absolutely hate the dentist's office, and it's largely because of what's been done to that tooth. I've been through the exercise in my mind over and over again, that my incisor is an apple and the troublesome molar of the day is an orange - but it can take a while to agree with that when laying in the chair.

There are too many possible outcomes here. For example, with the tooth food is getting caught in ... it might be a cavity, it might be something like a broken corner. Either might be fixed with a filling - or in a slightly worse case, a crown without a root canal might be the solution.

Similarly, your newest pain could mean something as simple as an irritated gum - though it sounds like a cavity is more likely. Either of these can make the tooth hurt - it's not always a root thing.

Try not to fight multiple root control battles until you need to (which may never occur). Your other enemies are not going to be as scary.
 
Thanks bcjch. You are absolutely right in that I'm thinking that they are all going to be the same. Seems now I associate any pain with equaling a root canal. I really thought that after having the molar done, that the rest would be easy. Just fillings. At least that's what the dentist seemed to think.

I just hope they can help me soon. I know he was booked out until February for work. But if I'm having pain, maybe he'll get me in sooner. Ugh, so upsetting.
 
Hang in there, Jen - unless the dentist has given you a reason not to trust his judgment, assume he's right about all the rest of your needs. It might not be too much to ask of him to take a peek at the new painful spots, though ... but there is something you might want to do first.

If you haven't tried, you might use a toothpick or something just to feel around the first area (where meat isn't getting caught) to see if you find anything that feels foreign. Floss doesn't always get everything. I get popcorn husks stuck in my gums sometimes, and they start to hurt until I work them out of my gums. That way, you might get lucky enough to correct that problem on your own. My hunch is that you'll need a little help where the meat is getting stuck.
 
Thought I'd give you an update! They got me in this morning, which I was very relieved. Though they told me on the phone that the one catching all the food did have a few cavities, so that was why that was happening. But the front tooth didn't show anything wrong with it on xray.

So I came in and they took another xray of the front tooth, again nothing wrong. He shaved it down a bit, thinking maybe I'm grinding it at night. So maybe now I won't hit it so hard. Then he asks if I had time this morning. I had all day! So he decided to fix all of my cavities on the left side. A total of 16 fillings! This included the one that gets the food caught up there. So hopefully that is good now. I'm a bit sore, so I won't be trying out anything too chewy tonight to test it!

Still a little worried about the front one. Going to try and not worry and keep my tongue away from it (that might be part of the problem too maybe?).

I do have to go back in tomorrow morning though, my bite is messed up. The fillings he did today are too high. I've got 7 more cavities to fill, and I won't do that for a few weeks. Hoping I'm seeing a light at the end of this tunnel! Thanks again for all your support and help.
 

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