Root Canal - Right Decision?

[legolammb]

Sorry, long post but just looking for reassurance. I'd been having terrible toothache and sensitivity to hot and cold on and off for a couple of months following a deep filling in a pre-molar. I'd also had pain in my cheek across my sinus. My dentist said the filling looked fine and it was likely sinusitis. I ended up on 4 lots of antibiotics with no luck. He still didn't take any x-rays even though I suggested it might be a root problem.

This weekend the pain got unbearable, I was in tears and couldn't do anything. The tooth next to the filling tooth had swelled up so I couldn't bite down and felt like there was massive pressure - no response to cocodamol or ibuprofen, all that helped was holding cold water in my mouth. I ended up going to an emergency night dentist who did an x-ray which showed shadowing round the top of the tooth root. The filling tooth actually looked ok. He suggested he started a root canal and put in a temp filling. When he drilled into the tooth he said the nerve was dead and there was some pus (sorry, tmi). I was hesitant to go ahead as I didn't know the dentist at all (had travelled 30 mins to out of hours place) but was in so much agony I had no choice.

I've got an appointment with a root canal specialist this week to get it finished. I'm just a bit worried with not knowing the dentist and it all being such a rush that I made the wrong decision and he might have made a mess of things. That tooth had seemed fine until a few days ago and I thought it was the filling tooth that was bad. Does this sound right? Should I have persevered with antibiotics? The dentist said it was likely too late for antibiotics to get through there.

OK - So just to make things more complicated, I was on the waiting list for wisdom tooth removal as they've been swelling up massively and causing lots of pain. I've just had a call from the hospital saying they have a cancellation and can fit me in the day before I get the root canal finished this week! I'm guessing it's a bad idea to have 2 wisdom teeth pulled the day before a root canal? I'm thinking with the RCT being a long procedure and having to have the dental dam etc it's a bad idea? Alternative is to wait 5 weeks to have the teeth pulled

Not a dentist, but have had a dental nightmare over the last few months and it sounds like the root canal is the right thing. Which tooth is it? I found it difficult to keep my mouth open/have the dental dam without wisdom tooth removal - that was a lower molar so it took a while, plus I had the tail end of a cold and was struggling to breathe a bit. I think the bigger the tooth the more roots/canals they have so it takes longer/is more complicated. My dentist said antibiotics rarely work as it's inflammation that causes the pain rather than infection, and the guideline is to place a medicated dressing in the tooth to settle it before the RCT, which it sounds like the emergency dentist did.

Not sure any of that is useful, sorry. People were really kind here when I was in a state in the summer so I hope someone more helpful is along soon!

Am a dentist & I would strongly advise you to complete the root canal treatment first; that is the current higher priority.
Don't take the earlier wisdom teeth appointment.
No amount of antibiotics was ever going to settle your issue, because the tooth needed to be opened up & root canal instigated. Which the emergency dentist has now done for you & he/she has the radiograph which (from your post) clearly shows the infected tooth.
Perhaps if your own dentist had Xrayed the area, the periapical area on the causative adjacent tooth would have come to light earlier?
Instead of your own dentist insisting it was sinusitis, it may have been sensible for them to take a small radiograph. Nothing may have shown up at that stage but nevertheless it probably would have been prudent.
Often with toothache and the ensuing stages of pulpitis, peroiodontitis etc the pain doesn't localise to one tooth until an apical abscess has formed. Not at all am unusual situation.
Hopefully, the acute pain is settled now?

Thank you both for the reassurance. I'm sleep deprived from pain and haven't eaten a proper meal in days and was a bit teary so it's helpful to hear from you. I'm keeping the later wisdom tooth date in a month when everything should hopefully be settled. There's definitely less pain - it feels like the pressure has been released, still a bit of sensitivity on biting down though, so I've been having soft food. I'm due to do a transatlantic flight in 9 days so hoping I can get things sorted by then and won't have to cancel my holiday.

Judy - I hope you're sorted and out of pain now. Mine was a pre-molar so I think a bit easier to deal with than an actual molar.

Hope you get sorted, lego - toothache is the absolute pits. I've developed a night-time clenching habit due to stress (partner made redundant) which has caused me no end of woe. My lovely dentist must feel like crying when she sees my name pop up in her appointment schedule...!

Oh gosh, Judy I've also got the clenching habit too. Got terrible TMJ pain for a bit. I think it was because my mouth was swelling a lot at night and opening my mouth relieved it - I kept waking up with my mouth in odd positions. Sorry to hear about your partner, not surprising it's difficult to relax. I think you then end up worrying about the clenching and it's a vicious circle.

OP- that sounds very positive.

It'll take a few days every time the tooth is instrumented to settle down; so remember to alternate paracetamol / ibuprofen ( assuming no contraindications) every 3.5 hrs post root treatment.

I had root canal treatment last year, it was awful, ended up having it pulled out anyway.
If it doesn't show I'd have it pulled.