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Any dentists around please? Root canal fail

12 replies

HotSauceCommittee · 03/08/2018 20:02

So I had root canal around 2-3 years ago. In the interim period I’ve had some pain for which I’d been given metronidazole on the presumption it was infected. My dentist said that it may be a “bogey tooth” and will flair up like this now and again.
I discussed these problems with my sister , who used to be a dental nurse; she told me that the root canal procedure should have been interrupted several times for an X-ray to check the tooth’s integrity so that it could be ascertained that all the infection had been drilled out. This wasn’t done.
Fast forward to this evening where the back of the tooth (it’s a canine) has come off, leaving a hole and a big load of what looks like decayed tooth embedded in the gum at the back. I clean my teeth, but I obviously hadn’t felt this as the nerve had been destroyed (thank fuck).
Now I paid this chap £750 for this in a bid to not pay thousand for a new, false tooth/implant.
My question is: what is reasonable to ask the dentist to do in order to make good? Should he refund me? Do an implant at his own expense? Do I have to suck it up even though I have a suspicion correct procedure wasn’t followed and cover my own costs? Am I at risk of blood poisoning due to all the decay ay the back?
I don’t know if this warrants an emergency weekend call to him when I get back to the UK tomorrow or whether I can leave it to next week.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

OP posts:
HotSauceCommittee · 04/08/2018 18:24

Bump

OP posts:
Judydreamsofhorses · 04/08/2018 19:33

I am not a dentist, but I think you should ring first thing on Monday. It may be that the tooth can be re-treated. I had a root canal which wasn’t done properly, and needed a re-treat by a specialist costing an obscene amount of money earlier this year, but it didn’t actually cross my mind that the original dentist would be liable for any costs. I don’t think you will be in any danger because of the decay.

HotSauceCommittee · 05/08/2018 07:22

Thanks Judy.

OP posts:
Thymeout · 05/08/2018 08:06

I have a failed root canal. It was done 4 yrs ago and recently I had an X ray for the adjacent tooth and the dentist said that he'd classify it as a failure and I need to be v careful over symptoms such as bad taste in my mouth and blocked sinuses. (It's a top back molar.) See him asap.

I didn't have X rays during treatment and was warned that there's no guarantee that root canals will work. I doubt if you can claim negligence.

When a chunk fell off a different tooth, no root canal, I had an on-lay(?) He made an exact replacement chunk with a 3 D printer and glued it on. £300. Don't know if that might be a possibility for you.

Dental check-ups are worse than MoTs these days, worrying about the bill!

Judydreamsofhorses · 05/08/2018 13:55

thyme that was exactly what happened to me - same tooth too - and the failed root canal was described as “a ticking time bomb”. Yikes!

Fluffypie1 · 07/08/2018 21:21

@Judydreamsofhorses can I ask what happened with the tooth ?I also have a ticking time bomb in my mouth but it's not painful and dread getting it extracted

Fluffypie1 · 07/08/2018 21:23

@Judydreamsofhorses sorry didn't read your post properly ,I see you had yours redone

WhoWants2Know · 07/08/2018 21:46

I had a root canal that failed and caused a massive abscess. Unfortunately by that point the tooth couldn't be saved, so I had antibiotics followed by an extraction.

Jupiter9 · 07/08/2018 22:17

Go NHS it's cheaper. Good luck

MissConductUS · 07/08/2018 22:23

Sometimes the roots will get reinfected even if the original procedure was done correctly. I have two teeth that have had to be redone.

I've also learned that root canals are often a temporary fix. They leave the tooth more brittle. I had two that cracked within two months at the beginning of the year (one of them was a twice done root canal). Both had to be extracted, then bone grafts done, and now I'm in the process of getting implants. I wish I had just skipped the root canals and put the money towards the implants.

Judydreamsofhorses · 07/08/2018 23:03

fluffy tbh it had been fine for years - I had it done while I was at uni, 20 years ago, and it was causing me no bother. Because I was getting the one behind it done by the endodontist, I opted just to have it re-treated at the same time (it was over a few months with all the appointments). It would have just been my luck for it to flare up the minute he discharged me. He said it could sit quietly for another 20 years though.

missconduct were your teeth not crowned to protect them? They have no blood supply after the RCT, so if they are chewing teeth I think a crown is standard, not so much with front teeth.

MissConductUS · 07/08/2018 23:39

missconduct were your teeth not crowned to protect them?

They were. They cracked under the crowns. I have a very strong bite, which has caused no end of problems with my teeth. But even without that the canals often have to widened to clean them out, removing tooth structure and weakening the tooth.

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