I had been going to a local dentist for years, and was getting increasingly dissatisfied with the level of care. Like, having to return multiple times for incorrectly done fillings, having to fight to get the excess compound removed from between my teeth and from where it was impacting my bite, temperature sensitivity that only appeared after fillings were done, etc. And on top of all that, they stopped accepting my insurance.
So when I moved, I was more than happy to switch dentists and got a great recommendation from a coworker. New dentist uncovers just how badly the old one screwed me.
There was some other stuff, but the worst example was a filling drilled deeper than it should have been and the cavity not adequately cleaned out before the compound was applied, which was causing the temperature sensitivity I had been complaining about. She drilled the old filling out, took some photos of the nastiness under the filling, cleaned me up and refilled, but said long term solution was unfortunately going to be a root canal.
I say unfortunate because it kills the tooth and makes it very prone to cracking or worse down the line, and I’m pretty young to need one (31). She was very open about the risks but still said it was the best option and got the paperwork going for a pre-authorization while I made up my mind.
Skip forward about 5 months of just putting up with the temperature sensitivity as my new normal. Suddenly about a week and a half ago, temperature sensitivity upgrades to constant pain. I start slamming advil, and a tube of orajel is my best friend. It doesn’t get better for long enough that I call the dentist and make an emergency appointment, but between calling and actually seeing the doctor, my cheek starts looking suspiciously puffy.
Sure enough, root canal is now critical and I’ve got an infection. The words “drain” and “abscess” were used.
Well. I was 31 years old when I found out that having an infection makes local anaesthetic less effective…. The area being more acidic than normal messes with the function, apparently. Dentist didn’t want to wait for the infection to clear before operating because I was in so much pain.
Topical benzocaine and 3 shots of lidocaine latter, I could still feel a lot of the drilling going on. The feeling of the nerve getting cleaned out is probably the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. My legs were shaking the whole time and my cheek swelled up to the size of a tennis ball after. It’s still (slightly less) swollen two days later and I’m on mega antibiotics for another week.
So yeah, when the insurance company actually agrees with your dentist that something is medically necessary, you should probably just do it.
TL;DR: I needed a root canal but didn’t want one, ended up really really needing it 5 months later and having to get it basically without anesthesia 🙁
Comments
Sounds like you learned a painful lesson (literally). Putting off that root canal turned a bad situation into a worse one. Now you’re dealing with an infection, and the procedure was way more unpleasant than it would’ve been earlier. Guess it’s time to take your dentist’s advice seriously from now on. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Same thing happened to me. Didnt know why it hurt so much.
I had a similar thing happen as in my old dentist was fixing a broken filling and drilled down too far, killing the tooth. I only had the tooth sensitivity for about a week before I felt it wasn’t right and went back, he did the root canal, made me pay full price for his mistake and then sent me off without properly fixing a crown or anything to protect the tooth.
A year later Im eating popcorn and crack the tooth down the middle. Ive just now, 3 years later had the gap filled with an implant and a crown but jesus, bad dentistry can do so much damage.
I hope your tooth is well protected!
I ended up in the hospital for 4 days from an abscess tooth. infection went to my jaw. It wasn’t for ignoring it either, I made several trips to the dentist, got a root canal, and it still happened. It just didn’t hurt that bad until it did. Dentist sent me to the oral surgeon on call in the ER, who said “you need surgery, we’re admitting you and scheduling it for tonight.” Still have a scar from the drain tube in my neck.
I feel ya. I had a bad cavity which I knew I needed to take care of, but being young and dumb (and terrified of dentists), I kept putting it off, until I finally made an appointment one Thursday morning, for the following Wednesday.
That Saturday, I literally woke up from pain (and I am a HEAVY sleeper). I could barely get any relief from even direct application of Orajel, and got maybe three hours sleep between the rest of that day and Sunday.
Monday I call the dentist and literally beg to be seen, he tells me to come in, five minutes later tells me I have an abcess and need a root canal, which he doesn’t do, so he sends me to an oral surgeon he partners with.
Had to pay $600 out of pocket because that guy wasn’t in my insurance network, but when the local wore off and I realized the pain from the abcess was gone, it was worth every penny.
Holy shit, that sucks that you were in so much pain. If it helps, I had to get a root canal in a front tooth when I was 14 (fainted onto my face in front of a McDonalds, woot) and the dentist said that I probably won’t have to worry about the tooth cracking until I’m in my 80s. It’s been about 10 years since then, and I’ve been chomping on whatever I want, including a computer mouse, with zero problems.
Surprised they didn’t give you an antibiotic. I had a failed root canal become reinfected and ended up going to the hospital. Pain medication did nothing, antibiotics did almost immediate wonders (for the pain)
And then the follow-up with the dentist, because the tooth already had a root canal, was an apicoectomy – basically a root canal starting from the other end of the tooth. 0 issues almost 5 years later
I had to get a root canal when I was in high school (I’m now in college). After having a surgery that was supposed to help the tooth died anyway. I was SO temperature sensitive between the two procedures and after the root canal I could drink cool water without pain. It was very inconvenient timing but they did the root canal right away when I started having severe pain, glad they didn’t have me wait. Hope you are feeling better now!
I had a similar experience. I went to the same dentist since I was a child, and for over five years straight, I complained to them about my top left tooth. They always said that nothing was wrong with the tooth and to just use sensitive teeth toothpaste to ease the pain. After a couple of botched cavity fills, I changed dentists.
The new dentist said that I had a really bad cavity in that tooth, and the only way to get it fixed was a root canal. I was 19 at the time. So I eventually got in, and it took over an hour of pure hell. Because of how small my tooth was, and that it was the last one on the left, he had a lot of trouble with it. The man was at least in his 60s and said it was the worst one he had to do in his career.
Anyway, the thing they put in my tooth wasn’t up all the way, so I had to go back the next week to get it re-done. Worst experience of my life.
No ketamine????
Told I needed a long-broken molar with a cracked root pulled and an implant put in by my regular dentist. I told him I did not want to be awake for the process, so he referred me to an endodontist.
Not covered by insurance of course.
Worked a deal for the extraction and three implants to fill gaps. (I had prioritized my wife’s dental rebuilding over my own for years, so there were outstanding issues).
Cost me two limbs, but I was expecting it.
Went in. Went to sleep. Woke up. Went home.
Minimal pain.
Regular dentist made the teef, which work great and I don’t periodically slash my tongue in my sleep anymore. Now I stalk the night fighting crime with my amazing molars of justice and like that.
I’m glad you got it handled before it got too dangerous. I had a friend who ignored a cavity, and dentistry in general, for far too long. He experienced about two weeks of agonizing pain in a tooth, but he was scared of the dentist and had no insurance, so he decided not to do anything about it and eventually the pain went away on it’s own. Years later he finally went in for a tooth cleaning with a new dentist and of course they wanted x-rays of the cavities. What they found was absolutely horrifying.
The infection had eroded through the bone and the pain had disappeared because the root was completely dead. I don’t remember the full set of details because this was years ago and I didn’t live it, but suffice to say the bone erosion was so advanced he was at severe risk of brain infection. He had emergency oral surgery and spent a week in the hospital on IV antibiotics. The only thing he’d ever noticed in all those years was that he got frequent sinus infections and his doctors always chalked it up to his allergies. Don’t ignore your cavities folks! Especially if they’re in top teeth.