Crown work gone bad?
Joel M. Eichen
>I recently had a temporary crown put on one of my back molars, which
>has resulted in daily pain for two weeks now. Oddly enough, the pain
>seems to begin in the evenings. Although I am able to manage the
>pain with aspirin, my question is this:
>Is it possible that when drilling or grinding the tooth so as to
>prepare to place the crown, the dentist could have gone too far,
>perhaps even damaging the tooth pulp/nerve?
My guess is "yes," but it is only a guess. Test it out with ice-cream
then in a few minutes coffee.
If heat increases and cold decreases pain, that is the test for
abscess. An abscessed tooth hurts upon biting. Now this is tricky
because the tooth has three nerves . . . one may be abscessed while
another may be not abscessed, giving conflicting results.
However, this changes in time. Check it for yourself!
Cheers,
joel
Joel M. Eichen, D.D.S.
```
> If that is the case,
>would it be necessary to have a root canal to "repair" the damage
>done?
>I had no pain, symptoms or problem prior to this crown work. A
>vertical fracture was discovered by the hygienist during a routine
>cleaning, which was pointed out to the doc, and he recommended a
>crown--which I now regret getting, since I didn't have a problem
>before seeing him.
>I recently moved, so this is a new doc I went to, and he did take a
>full series of x-rays prior to me seeing the hygienist, and there
>didn't seem to be a fracture revealed by the x-rays. In fact, he said
>things looked pretty good.
>I am growing very skeptical about this.
>Any advice would be appreciated.
>Thanks,
>John Martalo
Carlo Hoskins
jmar...@mindspring.com wrote on 5/31/00 12:35 AM:
> I recently had a temporary crown put on one of my back molars, which
> has resulted in daily pain for two weeks now. Oddly enough, the pain
> seems to begin in the evenings. Although I am able to manage the
> pain with aspirin, my question is this:
>
> Is it possible that when drilling or grinding the tooth so as to
> prepare to place the crown, the dentist could have gone too far,
> perhaps even damaging the tooth pulp/nerve?
First things first: report this to your dentist, if you haven't already.
Daily pain in a tooth is never a good "sign," but there are a myriad of
potential reasons for the pain. Furthermore, every time a tooth is prepared
for a crown, pulp death is a ptoential complication. It usually doesn't
happen, but once in a great while it does without a forseeable cause. So,
is it possible that he/she went too far? Yes, it's possible, but you seem
to be jumping to that possible conclusion too quickly. We're talking about
possibilities here, so with no disrespect intended, it is also possible that
you're faking the pain...for attention or something. How in the world could
anyone here possibly figure out what's causing your problem when they've
never even seen you or the tooth?
>If that is the case,
> would it be necessary to have a root canal to "repair" the damage
> done?
A root canal is indicated, 99% of the time, for treating a dead, dying, or
chronically painful tooth...period. I don't believe yours qualifies...not
yet, at least, so let's not put the cart before the horse.
> I had no pain, symptoms or problem prior to this crown work. A
> vertical fracture was discovered by the hygienist during a routine
> cleaning, which was pointed out to the doc, and he recommended a
> crown--which I now regret getting, since I didn't have a problem
> before seeing him.
Unless there are other signs and/or symptoms, I usually do not suggest
crowning teeth with fractures, but that's me, and I believe this
approach/philosophy is a fairly low-risk gamble...but a gamble nonetheless.
Other dentists crown cracked teeth routinely because they feel it lessens
the risk of subsequent fractures, and they are probably right. Their
experience guides them and colors their judgment. This gets at the heart of
the "art" side of dentistry. Incidentally, I've had patient's tell me, "It
wasn't sensitive before you filled it," after I treated a tooth with
advanced decay. (Makes me want to put a bullet through my head sometimes).
The fact is that if he hadn't crowned it, you might have ended up losing the
tooth from its split in half. Who knows?
I will go out on a limb here and suggest that the pain you are experiencing
may subside after having the "real" crown placed. A temporary crown does
not provide the same measure of encompassing pressure/force...which tends to
keep the tooth together. When you report your problem to your dentist, he
will evaluate it and treat you accordingly. In this case, I would probably
plcae the custom-made crown on with a temporary cement for a few weeks to a
few months to see what happens. Maybe he'll do the same thing, then again,
his approach msay be entirely different and every bit as correct.
> I recently moved, so this is a new doc I went to, and he did take a
> full series of x-rays prior to me seeing the hygienist, and there
> didn't seem to be a fracture revealed by the x-rays. In fact, he said
> things looked pretty good.
X-rays produce a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object. It is
rare that fractures will be evident on radiographs. Usually, only a severe
crack will be evident...even then, it has to be in the correct orientation
to be visualized on the film.
> I am growing very skeptical about this.
Stop. You need more information. This is the age for it.
> Any advice would be appreciated.
See your dentist. Talk to him/her.
>
> Thanks,
> John Martalo
--
W. Carlo Hoskins, D.D.S.
I don't market dentistry.
William Nix
or in the morning I feel pain and it subsides during the day. I hope this go
away also with the permanent...
Carlo Hoskins <loho...@naxs.net> wrote in message
news:B55A6398.2A3B%loho...@naxs.net...
willyd...@my-deja.com
jo...@earthlink.net (Joel M. Eichen) wrote:
>
>
> My guess is "yes," but it is only a guess. Test it out with ice-cream
> then in a few minutes coffee.
>
>
Why can't more medical tests involve ice cream?????
>
> joel
>
> Joel M. Eichen, D.D.S.
>
> ```
>
> > If that is the case,
> >would it be necessary to have a root canal to "repair" the damage
> >done?
>
> >I had no pain, symptoms or problem prior to this crown work. A
> >vertical fracture was discovered by the hygienist during a routine
> >cleaning, which was pointed out to the doc, and he recommended a
> >crown--which I now regret getting, since I didn't have a problem
> >before seeing him.
>
> >I recently moved, so this is a new doc I went to, and he did take a
> >full series of x-rays prior to me seeing the hygienist, and there
> >didn't seem to be a fracture revealed by the x-rays. In fact, he
said
> >things looked pretty good.
>
> >I am growing very skeptical about this.
>
> >Any advice would be appreciated.
>
> >Thanks,
> >John Martalo
>
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Joel M. Eichen
>In article <uf5Z4.3464$MY6....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> jo...@earthlink.net (Joel M. Eichen) wrote:
>>
>>
>> My guess is "yes," but it is only a guess. Test it out with ice-cream
>> then in a few minutes coffee.
>>
>>
>Why can't more medical tests involve ice cream?????
They do.
We did some studies with cholesterol loading -- ice-cream is just
perfect!