I go to the dentist regularly and at my 6 month exam was told everything was fine. I brush and floss regularly and am working seriously to reduce my intake of soda pop and sweets. How after only 6 weeks (last exam) can a tooth go from okay to needing a root canal in an emergency situation. How do I keep this from happening again? Besides the obvious pain, it cost me $1700.
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#1 by beth s on February 26, 2010 - 12:16 pm
There really isn’t anything you can do to prevent needing root canal treatment. Good home care and seeing your dentist regularly can help minimize risk.
Root canals are needed for a number of reasons: a chipped or fractured tooth (from trauma, either being hit in the mouth, biting down hard, or habitual grinding), decay, a filling or crown preparation that is too deep, or any combination of the above.
The nerve inside your tooth has a memory, and doesn’t forgive or forget anything that is done to it. Fillings, crowns, braces, and normal wear and tear add repeated insults to your tooth, and eventually, the nerve is beat down to a point that it can longer defend itself, and dies.
Even though everything checked out OK at your last exam, sometimes signs of needing a root canal don’t show up until days before you have the pain.
Wish I had better news for you – but give yourself some credit for staying on a regular dental schedule.
#2 by Patricia J on February 26, 2010 - 3:19 pm
You have two choices when it comes to your situation. Either a root canal and a crown which most likely happens conjunction with a root canal or to have the tooth pulled. If you have the tooth pulled, the rule of thumb is to replace it so that you dont have other alignment and crowding issues. So you have to ask yourself, is it cheaper for me to get a root canal and crown or for me to get it pulled and a implant or bridge? Tooth decay can happen rapidly. I’m not saying it happened over 6 weeks to the point of needing a root canal. Maybe it is in a area that you were not brushing and flossing as good as you thought you were or perhaps it was missed during the exam and now they made a mistake in not telling you 6 months ago. I cant say which because I honestly dont know. I would ask to be put on shorter intervals as to when I see a dentist and have exams to prevent it from happening again. If I were you, I’d ask for some daily home fluoride treatments to protect my teeth besides the fluoride given every six months. This fluoride helps to keep the bad bacteria in your mouth from producing the acid that causes the holes in your teeth. (cavity) Hope this helps.
#3 by Sarah T on February 26, 2010 - 3:56 pm
A hole really shouldn’t go from being absolutely normal to needing a root canal in 6 weeks. There must have been some decay in the tooth earlier that went unnoticed.
I use a toothpaste that has double the regular amount of fluoride in it. I was recommended it by my dentist as it is supposed to help protect against decay, and also slows down the rate that it gets worse. (You can only get it from a dentist though, at least in the UK where I am).