• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

What will a cone beam scan show? I want to know what to ask.

M

MountainMama

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
2,593
I am going in Thursday to see the endodontist for a cone beam scan, since my front tooth root canal is still painful.

I want to know what it will show, so I know what questions to ask. My dentist is great about explaining everything, which helps my anxiety. The endodontist is not. She tends to just jump straight to her recommendations, and to be honest, if I had asked more questions the last go round with my molar, I may have chosen a different treatment plan.

The pain is so much different from my other failed root canal. The pressure pain is slowly getting better, so I think my dentist was correct in her guess that it was ligament pain. There is an aching in the tooth next to the root canal tooth. Would the scan show if that tooth was infected? The dentist said that tooth was most likely affected by the same trauma that affected my front tooth, since the canal was also wide.

Also, would it show if there was infection or something wrong somewhere else? I have an intermittent pain on the roof of my mouth near the canine on the top.

Does the scan show all my teeth or just focus on the area of concern?
 
Just wanted to wish you luck at your appointment. I am not sure what the Cone Beam CT scan shows. But I did just have 2 of them done at two separate endodontists in the last few weeks. Both showed my "necrotic" tooth as not having any issues warranting a root canal. So as far as I am concerned, it didn't give any valuable information to get an accurate diagnosis. For that matter. neither did any of the xrays either. I hope your CT scan reveals something for you. Unfortunately, like me you may have to base your decisions on how you feel and if the tooth is getting better or worse. I happen to be one of those people who never gets an accurate diagnosis from any of the diagnostic equipment. We have to rely on our own good judgement. My 3rd endodontist who finally did my root canal who was doubting in the beginning....said these cases remind him to.....Go back to rule # 1....the patient is always right! I so wanted an xray or scan to show that I needed a root canal so that I could be confident that doing one was the right thing. That answer never came....1 dentist and 3 endodontists using all the diagnostic materials available to them were wrong. I was right. I knew the tooth was not getting better. You may have to go with your gut on this one. You may not get any definitive answers... I know it's frustrating. Best of luck. Keep us posted..Hoping my new root canal settles too!
 
Just wanted to wish you luck at your appointment. I am not sure what the Cone Beam CT scan shows. But I did just have 2 of them done at two separate endodontists in the last few weeks. Both showed my "necrotic" tooth as not having any issues warranting a root canal. So as far as I am concerned, it didn't give any valuable information to get an accurate diagnosis. For that matter. neither did any of the xrays either. I hope your CT scan reveals something for you. Unfortunately, like me you may have to base your decisions on how you feel and if the tooth is getting better or worse. I happen to be one of those people who never gets an accurate diagnosis from any of the diagnostic equipment. We have to rely on our own good judgement. My 3rd endodontist who finally did my root canal who was doubting in the beginning....said these cases remind him to.....Go back to rule # 1....the patient is always right! I so wanted an xray or scan to show that I needed a root canal so that I could be confident that doing one was the right thing. That answer never came....1 dentist and 3 endodontists using all the diagnostic materials available to them were wrong. I was right. I knew the tooth was not getting better. You may have to go with your gut on this one. You may not get any definitive answers... I know it's frustrating. Best of luck. Keep us posted..Hoping my new root canal settles too!

Arggh...I am afraid that it won't show anything and that the endodontist will want to jump straight to an apicoectomy, which is what she did with my molar that looked like it was healing but was painful. Then I will shell out big bucks again, only to end up having it extracted. With a front tooth, I will also have to pay for an implant. I would rather jump straight to the implant and skip the apico, since there is no guarantee it will work.
 
Has there been any improvement with your tooth? Are you living in agony? Just wondering what state you are in.
 
I hope you get answers! I would love to hear a dentist’s perspective, as I have had similar experiences. I have had several CBCT scans amd all the dentists have explained was they couldn’t see any infection or the bones look good. But no explanation of pain or what they can see. Good luck! You sure deserve answers and relief! Let us know how it goes.
 
Has there been any improvement with your tooth? Are you living in agony? Just wondering what state you are in.

The pain is worse in the tooth next to the root canal tooth. I am wondering if it needs a root canal. I also feel like the gums behind my root canal tooth is burned. It isn't agony, just really uncomfortable. I can bear it with tylenol. I am just sick of my mouth hurting all the time.
 
I hope you get answers! I would love to hear a dentist’s perspective, as I have had similar experiences. I have had several CBCT scans amd all the dentists have explained was they couldn’t see any infection or the bones look good. But no explanation of pain or what they can see. Good luck! You sure deserve answers and relief! Let us know how it goes.

That is what I am worried will happen. I want to be able to ask questions but I am not sure what I should ask. I don't want to just be told an apico might fix it.
 
The pain is worse in the tooth next to the root canal tooth. I am wondering if it needs a root canal. I also feel like the gums behind my root canal tooth is burned. It isn't agony, just really uncomfortable. I can bear it with tylenol. I am just sick of my mouth hurting all the time.
I hear you about the pain. After I spent the last month in agony with my "necrotic" tooth. I had my root canal Friday....had two decent days on Saturday and Sunday....but today. Monday, the pain is severe. I am so sick of things never going right. I'm thinking this tooth isn't going to settle either. How is it that time after time, we have dental failures, one after another? I mean, how can this even be? I was thinking about my neighbor who recently had some dental pain, had a root canal by a general dentist and no big deal. No pain. Healed 1..2..3. I don't think he used a microscope or any of the fancy equipment and it was even a molar. I went to the top endodontist in the city and now I'm thinking this root canal might fail. What is the issue here? Low tolerance to pain? Body unable to fight infection? Anxiety?
 
Give it some time? Perhaps it's a ligament pain. It's only been 3 days. If things are still not getting better and is actually getting worse, call the endo again and have him look at it again. I hope it settles soon for you.
 
I hear you about the pain. After I spent the last month in agony with my "necrotic" tooth. I had my root canal Friday....had two decent days on Saturday and Sunday....but today. Monday, the pain is severe. I am so sick of things never going right. I'm thinking this tooth isn't going to settle either. How is it that time after time, we have dental failures, one after another? I mean, how can this even be? I was thinking about my neighbor who recently had some dental pain, had a root canal by a general dentist and no big deal. No pain. Healed 1..2..3. I don't think he used a microscope or any of the fancy equipment and it was even a molar. I went to the top endodontist in the city and now I'm thinking this root canal might fail. What is the issue here? Low tolerance to pain? Body unable to fight infection? Anxiety?

It doesn't seem fair, does it? I have had two root canals, and neither have worked. I have a first lower molar now that has been hurting for a few days now, with extreme sensitivity to heat and cold. I know the signs at this point, so I know it needs a root canal, but I am terrified to get it checked out. When I was going in for my first root canal, one of my friends told me she had four root canals and they were no big deal. Pain for a few days then nothing.
 
Good luck I'm supposed to be having one this month,I've had it done before (prob more than once) it was a while back can't remember exactly. Usually get to this point tho+then it goes straight back to square one so don't really see the point.
 
Good luck I'm supposed to be having one this month,I've had it done before (prob more than once) it was a while back can't remember exactly. Usually get to this point tho+then it goes straight back to square one so don't really see the point.

I had one done back in August, when they were checking on my failed root canal on a molar, but I was never given any information about what it showed, only that the root canal was perfect. I know they used that same scan to send to the oral surgeon when I had to get an extra wisdom tooth removed, but again I wasn't told anything.

I just want to understand the proces because ot helps my anxiety. If I know what to ask, I may be able to feel more in control.
 
Yeah I get what you mean half or most of the time nothings explained+you come out more confused. Mine is supposed to be to see where the implants will go but heard that before yet I'm still sat here waiting.
 
Yeah I get what you mean half or most of the time nothings explained+you come out more confused. Mine is supposed to be to see where the implants will go but heard that before yet I'm still sat here waiting.
I hope you can get your implants soon! I can't imagine how difficult this has been for you. I do not understand the hold up.
 
I cannot imagine either Tazey.. I really hope you can get some answers and actions very quickly... and things can move along..
 
I hope you can get your implants soon! I can't imagine how difficult this has been for you. I do not understand the hold up.
Mmm well we'll see he said in december something about the end of 2019? I'll keep saving tho its all I can do.
 
Back
Top