Sensitive front tooth, dull ache

[radman]

Hi,

Around 20 years ago, I was hit in the mouth with a hockey stick. At the time, the dentist pulled the tooth back into it's normal position, and after a few months all was fine. Since that time, the tooth has been grey, but I've had no further problems with it.

A few weeks ago, I started to experience a strange sensitivity in the tooth to hot and cold things, and a dull ache - Sort of from near to the root, rather than in the tooth itself. At the same time I had a moderately snotty nose and some congestion on the left hand side (the side with the grey tooth). The aching increased if I bit on the tooth or pushed the tooth towards the jaw. There did not appear to be any gum swelling or anything similar.

I made an appointment with a dentist at my usual practice, but couldn't see my regular dentist. The dentist took an x-ray, ask me a few questions and said that the problem could be one of many things. He then looked at the x-ray and said that the inner part of the tooth looked quite large and that he thought I should have root canal treatment on the tooth. He also said that nowadays, the tooth would probably have been root canalled at the time of the injury, rather than leaving it. So I booked in for a root canal with my regular dentist.

Within 36 hours of seeing the dentist, all the aching and sensitivity had gone. The tooth now feels completely normal.

Over the last 20 years, two different dentists have said that they wanted to root canal this tooth, but when I questioned them, they backed down and said that it probably wouldn't be a problem if it was left.

Given that my tooth now feels fine, I'm now wondering if I really need root canal treatment on this tooth? What is likely to happen if I don't have it?

Thanks for your help.

 

[loubyyy]

sounds exactly the same as my tooth!
i injured my front tooth badly a few years ago and it was fine until two years ago until it started playing up like yours!
if they don't root canal it then it could become an absess? im not sure.. but i left mine for longer then the dentist wanted to be (due to being terrified) and it ended up going into a massive absess.. and root canal then failed!!
but im not sure... it may be fine? but sensitivity to hot and cold and a dull ache are how my absess started? but seen as though yours now feels "fine" im not sure..

 

[Gordon]

The reason we want to root treat teeth almost immediately after trauma is because very often they can go into a sort of self-destruct mode, the body seems to regard them as hostile invaders and attacks them. This can happen at random times and without provocation. The dentist who took the films will possibly have seen a widening of the root canal space inside the tooth and suspected that this was happening to you.

You could do with having a discussion with your regular dentist over whether or not you should regularly monitor the tooth with x-rays or take the plunge and have the endo done soon.