Two Root Canals and Still In Pain
Posted by writeradmin
My husband was injured in a basketball game that caused some trauma to a tooth. His dentist decided to wait a couple of weeks to let everything calm down before treating it. By the time we went back the tooth had started to discolor. There was no pain but the dentist said there was dried blood in the tooth. She felt the only treatment necessary was a dental crown, which we did. Fast forward a few months and he was in massive pain. We went back and she gave him 5 days worth of amoxicillin and then did a root canal treatment about a week and a half later. A few weeks later he was still in pain. She decided the tooth next to it was probably the problem and root canaled that tooth. He is still in pain another month later and absolutely miserable. What do we do?
Carolyn
Dear Carolyn,
I’m appalled at the care (or lack of it) that your husband has received. First, he should have had a root canal treatment from the beginning. That would have solved the problem up front. If there was dried blood, then the pulp of the tooth was dead. I don’t know why his dentist didn’t recognize it. Just putting a dental crown on the tooth without addressing the problem was a mistake.
A second issue was only giving him an antibiotic for five days when she was going to take longer to actually perform the root canal treatment. Once the antibiotic ran out, the infection would start up again, which means she sealed up the tooth with an active infection. No wonder he was in pain. She should have provided an antibiotic that lasted at least until the root canal was done.
Then, when he was still in pain, rather than suspecting there was still an infection in that tooth she just root canals the next one. Now, I haven’t examined your husband and maybe that tooth did need a root canal, but I’m highly suspicious that it didn’t, especially because he is still in pain.
I would consider this a dental emergency and get in to see a root canal specialist. I don’t have a lot of confidence in your dentist right now and want you to see someone with more expertise.
This blog is brought to you by Mt. Dora Dentist Dr. Michelle Stillman.