Root Canal and crown?

corky40

Thanks Toothsmith. He didn't explain any associated risks and he did not take an x-ray.
At least I won't have to pay any more for the treatment.
:T

welshdent

I wouldnt say he exposed the nerve mind ... just a little pedantic comment but he didnt. The prep of the tooth by its nature will remove the enamel which is a cap over the dentine in to which the "nerve" has connections ... but there is no other way to do a crown. All my patients are given a form to sign that says there is about a 20% chance of the nerve dieing off as a result of the trauma to the tooth (which it is). Even prep op assessments are not fool proof in what happens. I am with toothsmith on this one with all he said

corky40

Since having my crown fitted last week the pain has changed. Now it comes in waves every few hours especially at night. No sensitivity on eating.

I returned to my dentist today and his response was "oh, didn't I give you any antibiotics?" He then wrote a prescription, 500mg Amoxicillin.

Then he said root canal surgery with him might not work as it is an NHS surgery , he doesn't have the right equipment and is not an expert (ie I have a 50:50 chance of losing the tooth).

He said he would refer me for private surgery which would cost up to £500.

He still hasn't done an X-ray.

When I asked him about the effectiveness of the antibiotics he said if they work I would not need root canal surgery now but might need it in 2 or so years. However I have read on the NHS website that if nerves decay then root canal surgery is essential or it is storing up problems for the future (abcess, tooth loss):eek:

Any advise?

Toothsmith

Sounds like you're being fobbed off a bit.

You don't automatically prescribe antibiotics after fitting a crown, as you shouldn't need them. If there is a problem with a tooth, it should be sorted out before the crown is started. Sometimes you can be unlucky, and an unforseen problem rears up afterwards - but without an x-ray beforehand, he's really been a bit remiss.

Antibioticss will only take away the symptoms if it's infected. You might get 2 years without it hurting again, but you might just as easily only get 2 weeks, or 2 days. It's wrong to offer antibiotics as a 'cure' for this. They're not.

If your reporting of this is accurate (And patients don't always 'remember' things correctly!) then if you made a bit of a fuss here, you might find the dentist would at least 'contribute' towards you getting this tooth sorted out by a specialist.

welshdent

Everything toothsmith said. It does sound like a fob off. That said you may not want to push for the root filling from them anyway by the sound of things!!