<p>I went for my regular checkup and had x-rays and a cleaning. I didn’t have any pain but the dentist said I needed a root canal and a crown. That was four months ago and now it seems like every tooth in my mouth is hurting. I have had three more root canals since. Today I am calling the dentist because two more teeth next to teeth that have been done are hurting. It seems like each tooth he root canals ends up causing the tooth next to it to go bad. Has anyone had experience with this? I don’t know if this is important or not but the dentist has not given me an antibiotic with any of the work. Could the problem be caused by some infection that is spreading from one tooth to the next? I have never had bad teeth so this is very strange.</p>
<p>Yes, it could be from an infection. I’m surprised he didn’t have you take an antibiotic before he even started the first root canal. I went to a specialist to have my root canal (my dentist recommended her) and the first thing she did was have me take an antibiotic BEFORE the procedure. I didn’t have any symptoms of an infection–it was purely preventative for the procedure.</p>
<p>Oh, dear, that sounds really miserable and kind of scarey. So you have had four root canals in four months? That does seem a bit strange, especially if you had no symptoms or pain before this. I would get a second opinion. You should be able to get the x-rays from your dentist who did the work and have them take a look. I have some root canals, but they have always been years apart, and they always caused pain beforehand. My dentist checks them out every year or so with films to make sure there is not any infection present.<br>
The dentist I go to actually sent me to another doctor for consultation before my last root canal, over six years ago, and the other doc did the work.</p>
<p>I would DEFINITELY get a second opinion. It is common to have referred pain, but even with an infection it shouldn’t “spread” like that, in other words one bad tooth that needs a root canal shouldn’t spread the need for root canals to other teeth. I would start with another general dentist then if needed get a consult from an endodontist.</p>
<p>you need to find another dentist pronto! This guy sounds like an amateur and or is hungry for $$. . Most dentists do no perform root canals- they refer them to specialists.</p>
<p>Is it four different teeth? I think molars can have 2-4 roots and maybe he is calling each root a root canal…it if is 4 teeth I would see a specialist. For sure.</p>
<p>I’ve had more root canals than I care to admit, and what you’re describing is not normal. See an endodontist – they specialize in root canals.</p>
<p>I agree with others that you should see an endodontist. I would ask several local friends for a good reference, not this dentist. Where I live a dentist would never do a root canal and all roads lead to the same cherished endodontist. I would definitely want a second opinion. You may get some valuable information about your dentist’s reputation from this process, as well as the way forward. Good luck and sorry for your troubles.</p>
<p>Ouch - my sincerest sympathies. I’m on the second opinion bandwagon too…and that’s from someone who has personally financed our dentist’s ski vacation, youngest child’s college, and air conditioning installation.</p>
<p>I am not a dentist, but one of my good friends is, and I remember her telling me something about some guys not cooling the drill appropriately during the root canal and this causing the need for a root canal in neighbouring teeth. Maybe one of the dentists can comment on this.</p>
<p>I called the dentist yesterday and spoke to the secretary in the office. The dentist was not in but I told her that I wanted a prescription phoned in to the pharmacy right away. I started the antibiotic yesterday and I am hoping it is an infection rather than more teeth going bad out of no where. I am going to try and wait a couple days but I made an appointment for an endodontist for Friday. I am hoping the pain started to subside and that the endodontist does not confirm that I need more teeth root canaled. </p>
<p>NJfootball----It has been four seperate teeth and now there are two more teeth that are throbbing. I always had good teeth and when I went to the dentist originally there was no pain in any of my teeth. </p>
<p>Are there are any dentist on the forum who could provide some info on what could have caused other teeth to go bad after the first tooth was done? I am feeling rather dental phobic right now.</p>
<p>I would go to your general practice doctor, explain what is going on and request an MRI of your jaw to make sure there isn’t something else causing this, speaking from personal experience in a story way too long to post right now.</p>
<p>Another thought is that your dentist is a crook and doing things in your mouth to create more income for himself, had that happen to us once too.</p>
<p>^Yes, I am concerned that it might be something I haven’t wanted to think about.</p>
<p>Remember when you have any crown work done, if it is not made and fitted properly, it can cause all kind of problems because of where and how that crowned tooth now touches the surrounding teeth, especially when chewing or biting.</p>
<p>Sometimes other pain can arise in nearby teeth due to a crown not being properly made (usually done by an outside lab, and they’re not all equal), nor properly fitted once put in the mouth.</p>
<p>I had all of the fillings replaced in my mouth(except one) because I was having a little pain in one of my teeth. The one with a big filling. The dentist removes all of them except the one in the tooth with the big filing. It bother me because of the look but also it was the reason I wanted the fillings redone in the first place. He told me it was on the side and he needed the silver(amalgam) filling for a wall. My mouth starting hurting worse after the work. I grind my teeth sometimes and when they did this work it made my bite off so I was grinding even more. </p>
<p>I had either a crack or tiny hole in the tooth that was bothing me. It was by the filling. I was told to get a root canal. I said, “no way”. I told them to remove the old filling and replace it. I had them do it because I was in so much pain. I knew it was that tooth that bothered me the whole time but the whole side of my mouth hurt to the point no matter what tooth she touched they all hurt. I have had pain on that side for months. The height or something with the filings was not right. The other dentist on call filled my tooth at my demand and she gave me an antibiotic(which cause some problems) but it got rid of the infection and pain I was having. It did take several weeks but I got relief. The tooth is still a little tender at times but I don’t have pain. I guess we all have those times when we have been taken for money. </p>
<p>I guess the point I am making is that you should of had a antibiotic and anyone that I know that has had a root canal has been given one to take. My dh just had one done and had an antibiotic even before he had the root canal.</p>
<p>Our dentist does root canals (one of the few), but he does very careful work. He wouldn’t touch one without prescribing an antiobitic first. That would have been a red flag for me. Root canal, dental implant, any kind of invasive procedure without an antiobiotic. (My optometrist had to have a heart valve replaced after dental surgery and an infection that migrated, so it’s not such a rare thing.) </p>
<p>Even if this is something that is not the dentist’s fault, I think he should be doing some explaining to you about why all this is suddenly necessary. Our dentist would be afraid we would think he somehow caused this.</p>
<p>You are now also going to need crowns. The teeth become brittle after root canals and will be in danger of breaking off. If they break later you might not be able to get a crown/cap without a post and stuff. Discuss that with the endodontist. It will be much $$, but will be more $$ later if the teeth break.</p>
<p>Oh wow, ow :<</p>
<p>I kind of understand. When i had to have my first dental surgery to bring a tooth up in the front of my mouth, they had to go much deeper than they originally thought and thus recovery took longer. Even though its been about 7 years since then, its still sensative as all heck.</p>
<p>I am a dentist, so I’ll throw in my two cents and clarify a few things:</p>
<ol>
<li> Antibiotics are not routinely indicated for root canal treatment unless there is infection in the bone (interesting that there was another thread here chastising dentists for over prescribing antibiotics)</li>
<li> It would be highly unusual for one tooth to infect its neighbors (it is possible, but unlikely in the OP’s description).</li>
<li> If a tooth is properly diagnosed as needing a root canal and it is just filled instead, it will eventually blow up and need that root canal (probably Christmas eve or graduation weekend)</li>
<li> For a dentist to purposefully damage other teeth to get more business, he would have to be both a monster and fairly deft at doing this without the patient noticing.</li>
</ol>
<p>If the OP’s root canals were all in one section of the mouth, I would include in my differential diagnosis either referred pain or a neurologic situation such as this: [Trigeminal</a> Neuralgia (Tic Douloureux) Guide: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Options](<a href=“http://www.drugs.com/health-guide/trigeminal-neuralgia-tic-douloureux.html]Trigeminal”>Trigeminal Neuralgia (Tic Douloureux) Guide: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Options)</p>
<p>There have been situations where neuralgia has been innocently misdiagnosed as toothaches (it actually is zebras, rather than horses) and multiple root canals and even extractions have been done, only to have the pain persist.</p>
<p>audiophile–in response to your #4 since I posted about the dentist creating his own business, we moved to a new town several years ago. Previous to that our kids never had cavities and all of the sudden we were going in and they would have 2, 3, 4 cavities. I NEVER had a cavity until we saw that dentist. Had the kids’ cleanings in Feb one year, and between them found 8 cavities, had them filled. Go in again in August, a bunch more cavities. Get the EOB back from the dental insurance, DENIED because they were the EXACT same teeth he “filled” in February. Since we have switched to an ethical dentist, none of us have had a cavity since but we are now having some issues with poorly filled teeth that he did…</p>