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Why are all my teeth dying? I’m so scared.

P

Pearly77

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2020
Messages
53
Location
Virginia
Lying here at night and can’t sleep. As a child I didn’t have great dental care. Well, hardly any at all. As a result I have a mouthful of fillings and crowns. Five on top and two on the bottom. Four of the crowns (my top 4 teeth) were done a year ago in May. They were done because the old fillings were large and there was concern they would crack. The other crowns —molars — all needed to be replaced due to age and wear and were done this past January. There was never any pain prior to the crowns being placed.

Suddenly, almost all of the nerves in those seven teeth were dying. I went from never having a single root canal at age 44 to having five in the last three months.

five root canals through new crowns. One even turning in to an apico. When they went in to RC every single time there was never infection but dying or inflamed nerves. My Endodontist said he had never seen so many teeth dying at the same time.

CBCT scans, x rays, panoramic, etc—nothing shows up. Strong bone, no infections, no new cavities.

Aside from my teeth going bad I am a healthy 44 year old. I don’t drink or smoke. Gave up soda years ago and brush and floss at least twice a day. Always go in for my six month cleanings and have even started doing three a year. Use Prevident 500 at night.

I am just sick as I type this because now my lower front tooth — a tooth that has never had any work on it at all has that same familiar ache. The last week there has been dull pain (on and off — mainly on). Sensitive to cold and finger pressure but seems to go quickly. Kind of always achy, though — with lots of “flare ups.”

is this another tooth dying? Why??? The tooth has always been crooked on the bottom but lately it seems to have shifted a bit. The most sensitive part of the tooth to pressure seems to be where the tooth pushes up against another. That’s where it is most achy. Could that be causing this aching and sensitivity?

Is there something else wrong with me? Something that is causing this to happen? I have been to an ent and neurologist. Been put on carbamazepine and amitriptyline to no effect.

I am just so lost and feeling hopeless right now. Scared. Scared I’m going to lose all my teeth. That all these root canals are going to fail and I’ll be in dentures. Scared that all my non root canaled teeth will do the same.

What’s happening to me?
 

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Sounds more like occlusal trauma. Get your bite checked out carefully and adjusted as necessary. If you're stressing over it you'll be clenching and grinding a bit which will make it worse.
 
Oh, I so hope so, Gordon. I had it adjusted on Monday but kept clenching on it yesterday to “test it.” Doesn’t hurt to bite when I do that. Just generally achy and sensitive to cold but not through the roof sensitivity. Really angry with me if I press- especially where it pushes into the tooth next to it.

Any thoughts on those other teeth? I feel like I am just living my life in fear over them now. It’s just so darn sad.
 
I bet if you can avoid testing it for a week, it wouldn’t hurt. After all the work I had done, I constantly have random “virgin” teeth that pop up with aching and sensitivity, and sometimes even sharp pain. Then it goes away after a week or so if I can manage to leave it alone. My neurologist said that with all the work done, the nerves were irritated.
Leaving it alone is the hard part!
 
I knew you would understand! I will try. It’s just so hard when it feels so present right there in front of your face, you know? Sometimes, on this Virgin tooth, out of nowhere it has a sharp “stinging” almost injection like. I don’t know. It’s so confusing.

And i just don’t understand why all these other teeth were on their way out. It’s been such a hard, hard year.
 
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Crowning teeth can tip them over the edge, it's by no means a risk free procedure if the tooth has already been compromised by having a large filling in it. All the trauma from the crown prep can be enough to push them too far.
 
So, it doesn’t mean that all my other teeth are gonna kick it now? Not gonna be in dentures tomorrow? Everything looks good on all x rays so maybe i need to take a deep breath, relax, and stop pushing and clenching on all my poor teeth.

out of curiosity, if I continue to keep up with my brushing, flossing, and check ups, is it possible for a rootcanal treated tooth to last a long time?
 
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I knew you would understand! I will try. It’s just so hard when it feels so present right there in front of your face, you know? Sometimes, on this Virgin tooth, out of nowhere it has a sharp “stinging” almost injection like. I don’t know. It’s so confusing.

And i just don’t understand why all these other teeth were on their way out. It’s been such a hard, hard year.
Oh yes, it is so hard to avoid pushing on them with your tongue or finger! I get the stinging feeling also. I had a lower canine last week that felt like I was getting a needle shoved down next to it. It was so painful! Then it went away.
I am so hesitant to have any more crowns put on for the same reason. I had one of mine get irreversible pulpitis from the crown prep, which was supposed to help prevent that very thing as the tooth was possibly cracked.
 
Was it a constant ache? Mine sometimes even seems to “travel.”
 
Was it a constant ache? Mine sometimes even seems to “travel.”

When the nerve actually had irreversible pulpitis, it was a fairly constant ache that would get worse at times. It would hurt at night and sometimes wake me up.
When it is the nerves just misfiring due to irritation or whatever, it doesn’t affect my sleep. It may be a constant ache for hours or sometimes days, but usually travels around and can come and go. It may hurt for two weeks, off and on, and sometimes be severe, like a stabbing pain, but it always ends up going away eventually, unlike the irreversible pulpitis.
 
FWIW I've got a root treated tooth that was done in 1981, in fact it wasn't even done very well since one of my student mates did it for me... my other root treated tooth was done in 2011 by a much better dentist :) Sorry Ian!
 
Oh yes, it is so hard to avoid pushing on them with your tongue or finger! I get the stinging feeling also. I had a lower canine last week that felt like I was getting a needle shoved down next to it. It was so painful! Then it went away.
I am so hesitant to have any more crowns put on for the same reason. I had one of mine get irreversible pulpitis from the crown prep, which was supposed to help prevent that very thing as the tooth was possibly cracked.
Hi there Mountainnmumma may I ask what kind of condition ur tooth was in when u had the crown prep that turned into irreversible pulpitis? I’m so very nervous as I have to wait one more month with a metal band on tooth that has cracked syndrome until I can have prep and then crown placed... I’m terribly scared of having a root canal and dentist is trying everything so I don’t have to have that Done or have tooth removed . If the tooth has to come out I’ll have to get an implant as only 1 tooth would remain for chewing on that side... did you wait long with tooth diagnosed to crown prep? My dentist is making me wait so long so the tooth has completely settled down before prep ?crossing everything .. I just want to eat without fear.... thanks in advance
 
Hi there Mountainnmumma may I ask what kind of condition ur tooth was in when u had the crown prep that turned into irreversible pulpitis? I’m so very nervous as I have to wait one more month with a metal band on tooth that has cracked syndrome until I can have prep and then crown placed... I’m terribly scared of having a root canal and dentist is trying everything so I don’t have to have that Done or have tooth removed . If the tooth has to come out I’ll have to get an implant as only 1 tooth would remain for chewing on that side... did you wait long with tooth diagnosed to crown prep? My dentist is making me wait so long so the tooth has completely settled down before prep ?crossing everything .. I just want to eat without fear.... thanks in advance
Mine is kind of a unique situation. I have atypical facial pain so sometimes the pain I feel is not necessarily from a tooth. The nerves act up and cause pain in teeth when the teeth are just fine.
My tooth was diagnosed as cracked based on constant aching and it had a prior amalgam filling that was 20 years old. I had left it alone as I had already had my 2nd molar out on that side and it was my last molar on the lower right. The crown prep pushed it over the edge. Some of it may have been from my atypical facial pain...hard to distinguish. I did get two implants to replace the teeth as I did not want a root canal.
 
Mine is kind of a unique situation. I have atypical facial pain so sometimes the pain I feel is not necessarily from a tooth. The nerves act up and cause pain in teeth when the teeth are just fine.
My tooth was diagnosed as cracked based on constant aching and it had a prior amalgam filling that was 20 years old. I had left it alone as I had already had my 2nd molar out on that side and it was my last molar on the lower right. The crown prep pushed it over the edge. Some of it may have been from my atypical facial pain...hard to distinguish. I did get two implants to replace the teeth as I did not want a root canal.
Ah I see thank you for replying. So sorry you have had to deal with that all. may I ask how the implants went? Was it painful or a long lengthy procedure?
 
Ah I see thank you for replying. So sorry you have had to deal with that all. may I ask how the implants went? Was it painful or a long lengthy procedure?
The implants were easy. The whole process is long (4 to 8 months depending on which tooth), but the actual procedures are easier than root canals. The initial extraction is the most painful but not terrible. Since you usually have a bone graft placed when extracted you don’t have to worry about dry socket, and it heals much quicker in my opinion since there isn’t a hole. Then the actual implant only takes about 20 minutes. It heals quickly.
 
The implants were easy. The whole process is long (4 to 8 months depending on which tooth), but the actual procedures are easier than root canals. The initial extraction is the most painful but not terrible. Since you usually have a bone graft placed when extracted you don’t have to worry about dry socket, and it heals much quicker in my opinion since there isn’t a hole. Then the actual implant only takes about 20 minutes. It heals quickly.
Oh that’s good that it wasn’t to painful. The time scares me a lot though, sorry for silly questions.. why is the process so long ? Is it due to bone healing or something like that? It would be a top back molar if it had to be done... I’ve had a molar on other side extracted dentist said it could take 3 months to heal over is that what the wait time is for the implants is for? Also how soon could u eat on the implant did it feel normal or is it really obvious u have something foreign in mouth?
‘’thank u so much for ur replies
 
Oh that’s good that it wasn’t to painful. The time scares me a lot though, sorry for silly questions.. why is the process so long ? Is it due to bone healing or something like that? It would be a top back molar if it had to be done... I’ve had a molar on other side extracted dentist said it could take 3 months to heal over is that what the wait time is for the implants is for? Also how soon could u eat on the implant did it feel normal or is it really obvious u have something foreign in mouth?
‘’thank u so much for ur replies
After you have the extraction and bone grafting, it takes 3 to 4 months for the bone to grow in. After the bone is grown in, they put in the implant. Then you have to wait another 3 months for the implant to integrate in with the bone before you can get the crown out on. During this time you will have a healing cap over the implant, which is a round metal piece, almost even with your gums. I was told I could chew soft foods on the implant cap, but nothing hard or crunchy while it was integrating with the bone. Once it is integrated, and the crown is placed, you can eat immediately on it, with no restrictions. It felt normal to me, just like a tooth.
 
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