Signs root canal treatment due?

[pilotg22]

Hi, i have a deep filling in my 2nd lower molar that has played up since the day it was done about 10 months ago.

By played up i mean every 2nd week it has caused discomfort for a day or so and then I'd have a runny nose and sneezing fits for about a day and feel a little run down. I'd sleep it off and the next day the tooth and i would be fine. This would happen at least twice a month and always co-inside with toothache around said filling.

Strangely this stopped for the last 2 months, but now the tooth is constantly causing me discomfort (last 2 weeks). I went to the dentist who took an xray and at the tip of one of the roots when zoomed in he showed me the ligament of the tooth was not a nice clean line (compared to others) and there was a very small dark areas around that tip visible. He said it was inconclusive but it may be a sign you'll need RCT.

Besides the discomfort, it's like I'm aware of the tooth in my mouth constantly. It causes me no other pain, biting down, hot, cold nothing. The dentist did mention the tooth could be dead or dying but said lets just wait and see what happens.

My question is does this ligament and very small dark area mean changes have already happened and i should get the RCT done sooner, rather than later?

One other thing, which bugs me and i'm not sure if it's important is when i floss one side of said tooth my gum often bleeds. The filling goes below the gumline and i can feel it's not smooth when flossing.

I'd really appreciate a dentists advice on what to do. Any recommendations for dentists in Perth, Australia greatly received!

Thanks

 

[Dentaltalk]

Hi

it does sound like the tooth has been a bother for a while.

Often a tooth that needed a deep filling will end up needing a root canal.The reason being that a deep filling means bacteria was likely close to the nerve and sometimes after removing the bacteria and filling the tooth only then one discovers that those bacteria has actually caused some irreversible damage to the tooth.

A darker area around the tip of a root is often the indication of some ongoing infection in the tooth for which a rootfilling is indicated.Its of course important to put the whole picture together...eg what you experience,what the x-Rays shows and the history.

As far as the bleeding of the gum when flossing.....a filling that is under the gum can often act as a constant irritation to the gum and there are ways to treat this depending on what the x-Ray shows.

Remember that once you had a rootfilling done statistically the tooth is weaker and needs some form of protection often in the form of a crown.With the problem around your gum with flossing the crown needs to be planned so it doesn't cause you the same problem.

i am a dentist based in Perth.

Hi, i have a deep filling in my 2nd lower molar that has played up since the day it was done about 10 months ago.

By played up i mean every 2nd week it has caused discomfort for a day or so and then I'd have a runny nose and sneezing fits for about a day and feel a little run down. I'd sleep it off and the next day the tooth and i would be fine. This would happen at least twice a month and always co-inside with toothache around said filling.

Strangely this stopped for the last 2 months, but now the tooth is constantly causing me discomfort (last 2 weeks). I went to the dentist who took an xray and at the tip of one of the roots when zoomed in he showed me the ligament of the tooth was not a nice clean line (compared to others) and there was a very small dark areas around that tip visible. He said it was inconclusive but it may be a sign you'll need RCT.

Besides the discomfort, it's like I'm aware of the tooth in my mouth constantly. It causes me no other pain, biting down, hot, cold nothing. The dentist did mention the tooth could be dead or dying but said lets just wait and see what happens.

My question is does this ligament and very small dark area mean changes have already happened and i should get the RCT done sooner, rather than later?

One other thing, which bugs me and i'm not sure if it's important is when i floss one side of said tooth my gum often bleeds. The filling goes below the gumline and i can feel it's not smooth when flossing.

I'd really appreciate a dentists advice on what to do. Any recommendations for dentists in Perth, Australia greatly received!

Thanks