Will the soreness of my tooth go away with antibiotics before I have my root canal done?

[sashabou]

Will the soreness of my tooth go away with antibiotics before I have my root canal done?

About a month ago I had a deep cavity done on my back top molar, tooth #27. The dentist warned me that it was a deep one and close to the nerve, so it might not take and I could need a root canal. Last Thursday it started to act up and has gotten progressively worse. It does not hurt unless I touch it, or food does, but when I do its really sore. I went to the dentist today and he game me a prescription for an antibiotic and referred me to a specialist. My question, and my anxiety is that it will be this sore when they go to work on it and will touch it or want to do an x-ray, and it will be very painful. Will the antibiotics take away some of the soreness?

Thank you.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Re: Will the soreness of my tooth go away with antibiotics before I have my root canal done?

it will be this sore when they go to work on it and will touch it or want to do an x-ray, and it will be very painful.

During the examination, the dentist will probably will try to provoke some sensitivity/mild pain to diagnose whether the tooth treated is indeed the cause of the pain and the tooth's condition. Sometimes the dentist will choose to make a cold test (provoking pain by touching a specific tooth with a cold cotton roll), this test can provoke strong pain for a few seconds and sometimes the patient does not feel a thing. In any case, it is your right to ask the dentist to avoid any painful tests and try to diagnose with an X ray.
Making an X-ray should not cause any pain at all, even if the tooth is very sensitive to touch.

Regarding the antibiotics: I don't know what was the situation before treatment, but if the tooth has never had a root canal treatment, and if there was no inflammation around the roots of the tooth, there is no real indication for antibiotics.

 

[sashabou]

Re: Will the soreness of my tooth go away with antibiotics before I have my root canal done?

Thank you, I finally got an appointment at the specialist. Not until next Wednesday morning, which is a week from today, and almost 2 weeks since my tooth started acting up. My antibiotic prescription is until Tuesday, is this too late? Or will a week be OK? I started the antibiotics yesterday and I already notice an improvement in the pain.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Re: Will the soreness of my tooth go away with antibiotics before I have my root canal done?

The fact that you feel improvement is wonderful. Don't stop with the antibiotics, follow the prescription.
All the best.

 

[sashabou]

Re: Will the soreness of my tooth go away with antibiotics before I have my root canal done?

The fact that you feel improvement is wonderful. Don't stop with the antibiotics, follow the prescription.
All the best.

Thanks I was able to get in early and just got home. Feel way better.