root canal

[airedaleaot]

I have just had two root canal treatments on a bottom molar due to pain for which there seemed to be no cause (no infection apparent). Whilst he was doing it he seemed to hit something when he drilled right down that was very painful despite the anaesthetic. When the numbing wore off the pain was even more excruciating. Despite several x-rays he can see nothing wrong and no infection. He says the only other alternative is to pull the tooth. I didnt go through all this (3 hours so far) just to lose the tooth. Any ideas would be welcome

[barry1010]

Could the pain have been caused by neuralgia? Was this possibility ever investigated? Neuralgia is excruciating.

[DEN53]

Did the dentist take the nerve out of the tooth ? they usually do for root canal - if he did'nt then thats why your tooth is still aching.

I have had several root canals and they are bloody painful - some teeth I had crowned afterwards.

He says he can see no infection, but I know from experience that there can be the tinest bit of infection, not evening showing on the xray and this would cause it to flair up again.

If the tooth is a back one, (not showing when smiling) I would get rid of it - if all else fails.

Wish you better. xx

[happy_face]

With root canal treatment (RCT) the dentist drill down in each root (3-4 in molars) to remove the nerve inside. Although you were numbed up in the jaw, quite often it is painful when the nerve is touched and most dentists will inject anaesthetic straight in the nerves to proceed. This may have to be done a few times during the process. The dentists drill/file up and down in the roots to remove all trace of nerve and in 9 times out 10 they remove everything and fill the tooth. Sometimes even after a long session some tiny fragments of nerve can still be sitting in the roots and they can cause pain. Some dentists might suggest redoing the RCT but some may decide there's nothing else to do than extract.
But if I was you I would leave it for now. Most RCTs settle within a week or so. If you're still in excrutiating pain after 3-4 days then I'd go back but if you feel a slight improvement then you're going in the right direction.

Also wanted to let you know you don't need to have an infection to get RCT. Infection usually means an absess somewhere but you could be forced to have an RCT if the tooth has been decaying for so long that it has reached the nerves. Or sometimes a knock to a tooth can interfere with the nerves or kill them off completely.

Good luck