How long is this supposed to hurt?

teriwtt
Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:47:45 +0000

LasMa - every root canal I’ve had has been followed with a crown. I’ve been told killing the root can compromise the strength of the tooth over time, so the crown is the most permanent solution.

I also just had my first two crowns this past fall, that weren’t due to needing root canals. I had two huge fillings that were so old and deteriorating so badly, that had the new crowns not been done, the root would have eventually been traumatized so much that I would have had to have the root canal as well as the crown.

Donna, my dentist told me that, basically every time you eat something cold or hot that causes pain, it slightly traumatizes the root just a little bit more, and eventually over enough time, the root will not recover and you will need the root canal. Now I’m saying all this as if we know your pain is coming from the root, and not at the gum line, etc. You’re having the kind of pain I’ve had, but I’ve been much wimpier when it comes to the pain. I actually drove myself to the ER one time in the middle of the night the pain had gotten so bad. I was visibly shaking from a lack of sleep and pain, and I’m sure they suspected I was illegally drug-seeking. But when I told them I had a dentist appt. scheduled in the morning and they called my dentist to verify, then they prescribed the Tylenol #3 (this was way before you get get ibuprofen over the counter). Stay tuned for the rest of the story…