Root canal treatement done although the pulp wasn't exposed.
Posted , 3 users are following.
1 year back I came to know that there is a cavity in my lower tooth (the last but one tooth on the lower right side). x-ray / RVG was taken. Deep cavity was found but the pulp wasn't exposed or in other words, the furthest end of the cavity was ending in tooth and not gum. A few dentists told that it is 50-50 case whether simply filling will work or RCT (Root Canal Treatment) has to be done. But there was one dentist who told that its the ideal condition for RCT. According to him, RCT followed by placing a crown has to be performed on that tooth. But I went to a different doctor who advised for filling and got the cavity filled. But he had told that as the filling is from side of the tooth, if any hard thing presses on the edge of the filling, then the filling will break as there is no support in the bottom of the edge of the filling.
Before I continue, I would like to add one point here. Before this filling, I got the tooth filled by another doctor who did the filling but didn't keep any space between that tooth and the adjacent one. As a result of that, whenever I flossed I got foul smell there because of lodging of food. Hence I visited the new doctor as mentioned earlier and he got it filled by placing a separator so as to keep space between the teeth.
I started eating freely after the latest filling but within a few days the filling broke (may be because of any hard particle coming on the edge of the filling while chewing). I visited the doctor and he told that as the edge of the filling has no support on the bottom, so any hard particle can break it. So he gave an option for placing a crown but for that he told RCT has to be done 1st. But I simply got the tooth filled as earlier. He told that if the filling breaks this time, then he has to go with RCT + crown. He told whenever he does a new filling, the tooth has to be cleaned and in that cleaning, the part of the tooth material also gets thinner. So, next time RCT has to be done.
(Before getting this filling done for the 2nd time, I went to the same doctor who had advised for RCT at the 1st time. He repeated the same and told how much I try to run away from it, finally I have to go for RCT.)
I was eating carefully this time so that no hard material comes on the edge of the filling. The reason I didn't go for RCT because I am currently staying in village and I thought that when I go to city at my work place, I will get RCT done there after consulting the doctor in the city which is way far better than village. After going on with this filling for a few months, a few days back I had pain on the same tooth while chewing. The doctor who did the filling found that the filling was intact. He told that the top part of the gum isn’t holding the tooth properly and so there is pain. So, he advised for cleaning the tooth. But I doubted at his advise and went to the same doctor who had advised for RCT + crown from the 1st time. He told that RCT will make everything 100 % fine. When I told that the other doctor was telling that the gum not holding the tooth properly, he told it is not so. He told get RCT done and all pain will vanish.
And hence I got my RCT done from this doctor who had advised for RCT from the 1st time. 2 days later crown ( of material zirconia, which is best according the the doctor) will be placed.
What I want to ask is even if the pulp isn’t exposed in my case, is RCT required as is done on my tooth? Could it have happened that he would have done the filling and simply put a crown (or cap) over that? When I got my tooth filled earlier from another doctor and went to this doctor, he told that RCT will be required anytime in the future. He told even if I am OK with the filling now, 1 year later or so RCT will be required because due to pressure on the tooth.
0 likes, 4 replies
elizabeth142 ravisingh
Posted
Hello ravisingh
To be honest there is no point keep filling a broken tooth I had the same problem.
It's better to get the crown down than keep messing around having it refilled you are more likely going to lose the tooth!
You should have had the root canal done in the first place. I am happy mine is done now since last year. It is still sensitive at times but I'd rather have that than no tooth Attall. It sounds like these dentists are only after money! Go get the crown done by a decent dentist don't let rubbish dentists with no good reputation mess about with your mouth. After all they want to make a living not worry about your mouth! I don't know where you are doesn't sound like the uk. So I can't really advise you. But find out who you know that does go to a good reputable dentist.
All the best liz😀
ravisingh elizabeth142
Posted
Thanks a lot Elizabeth for your valuable advice. In your case did the pulp get exposed or the cavity was not till the end part of tooth? Why you were advised for root canal? I'd 11 yrs back got root canal with crown done on adjacent tooth and since then I forgot it as never I'd any problem.
elizabeth142 ravisingh
Posted
The tooth couldn't be built up anymore after the second attempt I was advised to have it capped it saves your tooth at the end of the day. The nerves were exposed so I was advised to get it done as soon as possible so I went to a new dentist nearer to me because I moved and I must say I'm pleased I did have it done now.
But the first dentist you went to should have taken action and done your crown. Whether pulp or decay whatever the reason should have been crowned.
You probably wouldn't be in this problem now.
Did you have the tooth X rayed?
That would have shown up what was going on with your mouth.
Hope you get it sorted anyway
If you want to further ask me questions il try help if I can.
Liz😀
lily65668 ravisingh
Posted
Ravisingh, it depends where you are in the world. If you're in the US, or a country that follows US procedures, the answer is yes, you definitely have to have a root canal.
In most European countries the answer would be a qualified no. Qualified, because an ordinary filling won't stay in place in your circumstances. What's needed is to make a kind of "crown", preferably from resin, and attach this to the tooth either by acrylic glue or titantium screws. Using both gets the best results.
I put the word crown in inverted commas because it's not technically a crown at all - though it looks almost indistinguishable from the real thing, especially if it's made of resin rather than amalgam. However, no mould has to be made, the root canal isn't opened, and the procedure can be performed in 20 mins by a good dentist.
I first had a similar problem to yours 20 years ago. I'd had a massive filling in a lower molar since adolescence - due to dishonest UK dental practices, but that's another story. Because there was only a thin shell of tooth surrounding the filling, the different coefficients of expansion (and contraction) between the existing tooth and the amalgam filling eventually caused the tooth to "explode", as my dentist put it. Not as alarming as it sounds, but the whole inner surface of the tooth shell broke off and the filling fell out.
By this time I was living in Belgium, which has excellent dental services. My then dentist fixed it by gluing a "false crown" to the remaining stump - having first checked it was healthy and not decayed, of course, and having filed it to give a rough surface for the glue to stick on. This lasted about five years before it fell off, during which time I had no pain and was able to eat normally.
I then saw a different dentist, who repeated the procedure but fixed the false crown with titanium screws. Again, completely trouble-free, and this time it lasted 10 years.
The second one fell off, and was replaced five years ago by my current dentist, using both titanium screws and acrylic glue. Again, totally trouble-free. He even gave me a written guarantee for 10 years - i.e. he'll replace it for free if it falls off before then - so he must be pretty confident in his own work!
This solution can't be expected to last forever, but it can be repeated as often as necessary, as long as the underlying tooth stump remains healthy. In fact, the last dentist made such a good job of it that when an American friend, who is a dental hygienist, looked at it she tried to insist that I was wrong, and it was a porcelain crown! When I told her how it had been done, she was amazed, and said no US dentist would ever agree to do that. But it really isn't a crown. No mould was taken, and the whole thing was done in 20 mins. The dentist shaped the resin perfectly and made me bite very rapidly on it for several minutes while the resin was still warm, to ensure the connection with my upper teeth was correct.
So, here I am, five years after the last treatment, with a fully-functioning tooth that feels and even looks exactly like its neighbours - and also with the reassurance that if it falls off within the next five years I won't even have to pay to have it replaced! The last fix cost €130 ($150 or £115), 60% of which was then reimbursed by the State medical insurance. Most of the excess was down to the fact that I agreed to have titanium screws, which are expensive and non-reimbursable.
I can really recommend this procedure if you can find a dentist prepared to do it. It won't last a lifetime, but neither did either of the root canals done on other molars. Both ended up after only a few years with a nasty abscess - one involving the bone as well - resulting in both teeth having to be removed.