Pain in tooth after dental bridge procedure?

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hello. On the upper back right side of my tooth I had an old root canal tooth pulled out about a year ago because the tooth was cracked causing infections over and over. I had the root canal about 6 years ago and it gave me problems the entire time. Went to a new dentist and they had to pull it. They suggested I get a bridge or implant. I opted to go for a bridge because it was cheaper and I have no insurance. So about 2 weeks ago I went in and they fitted me for the temp. Well they ground down my back right tooth on top and the one in front of the missing one in between. Every since then my back right tooth has been killing me. I called my Dentist and she said once the permanent gets put it if it still hurts I may need a root canal. Well it's been 5 days since the permanent was put in and the tooth still hurts. My question is why would I need a root canal? This tooth had never hurt until after the tooth was shaved down. Obviously they had to have damaged it or something. What should I do? They want $880 for a root canal. I have NO insurance and already paid $2000 for my bridge. 

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2 Replies

  • Posted

    Justin - Was the tooth extraction bad? I may need to have one due to trauma. 

    I would give it some time before I jump to a root canal. I would expect that you would have sensitivity, especially to temperatures, given the new crown. To me, the dentists logic does not make sense that the perm would improve the pain more than the temp. The dentist will just use a more perm glue to bind it and the perm looks better - so I don't know how that solves a pain issue.

    Now, it is possible that there is so much trauma to that tooth (now with the crown) that you need to get a root canal and remove the nerve. I think this is what you are suggesting and your could be completely right. If it is the only solution - perhaps see if they are willing to negotiate on price as they potentially caused the issue to begin with.

     

  • Posted

    Surely your dentist did an X-ray of all three teeth before making the bridge. Assuming that an x-ray was taken it should have shown if that back tooth was bad at that time. I think your dentist really ripped you off because if you do end up needing a root canal on that tooth depending on the way the bridge is done you may have to have the bridge removed to have that tooth worked on. The bridge is a permanent bridge and it's called that for a reason. Occasionally they can pull the bridge out without damaging it. And on occasion they can also do a root canal through the bridge. But if I just spent $2, 000 on a bridge I would not want it compromised with a drill hole because it was put on prematurely. I know that it can take quite a while for a tooth to settle down. And the dentist should have allowed that time and not place the permanent on for quite a while to see if it would settle down on its own. Bridges are complicated things I have two of them myself. And I had a root canal done on a tooth and six months later I had to have it pulled (one of my 2 Bridges) 1. Apparently having a tooth pulled that has already had a root canal makes it all the more difficult to pull. My tooth shattered when he tried to pull it and that meant he had to dig around and pull out all of the broken shards.

    I guess I'm really just rambling, but maybe I've given you something you didn't already know. Instead of seeing this dentist again you might see if your town or a town near you has a college that teaches Dentistry. We have that here in my town and they charge a fraction of the cost of an actual dentist. It is students that would be working in your mouth but they are very well observed and the risk is small, as is their prices.

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