OMG, I broke my tooth tonight advice needed please

Tonight while eating a dimebar I suddenly realised that I was chewing on a piece of my own tooth!!
Im so upset as its a fairly large piece that has broken to the gumline on a large molar that already has a HUGE root filling - now I have a question.
I had this root canal done over two years ago now, so was the dentist supposed to put a crown on afterwards to protect the tooth? or is this the next stage now I have broken it?

Im really upset as I cant bear going to the dentist and im also due to have a wisdom tooth out soon.....

Also is having a crown painful?

I would really appreciate some response here, thankyou in advance!

Jo

[edit on 29-11-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

Yeah sounds like this happened because the crown was not put on after the root canal...

The breaking was inevitable. Also, breaking further is also inevitable I think...

Chances are you need to have that tooth filed down and crown made for it. Or, if it is really bad it might be pulled out entirely. I suppose if it is bad, it could also be bridged to the adjacent tooth?

Either way, it will break further, sooner rather then later, if it isn't filed down.

Sorry about your tooth! Teeth problems suck, and so does the dentist

*edit to add: the root canal before, during, and after, is much more painful then the crowning process

[edit on 29-11-2008 by Lucid Lunacy]

Oh noooo thats not good, thankyou for your reply - although im freaked now!
Are you saying they should have put a crown on after the root canal? If thats the case this is exactly why going to the dentist scares me because I actually thought my dentist was ok as she seemed very proffesional and any dental procedure I had with her was generally pain free.

Oh and she also left around six months ago so now I have to try and build trust with a new dentist :bnghd:

Im crying now.........

I guess at least it isnt an emergancy, well i hope its not and im in no pain ( actually my tooth ego is a bit sore )
Id better ring the dentist first thing monday morn..........

[edit on 29-11-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

I don't know for certain, but yes I think the crown is supposed to follow the root canal. Maybe if the drilling in the root canal was not very deep it would have just been a filling with no need for a crown?

Since you are not experiencing pain now, I am thinking the nerves got a nice deep drilling from that root canal. Which makes me think that tooth was probably drilled enough before that it warranted a crown. I dunno.

I would say just show up on Monday for a drop in appointment, and wait to be seen. Chances are they will just need to file it down and make a mold for a crown to be made. It's no emergency, but it will break further (because of it's current shape) without filing.

Good luck! I am curious now, let us know what happens Monday

p.s I understand the crying. I have done my fair share over my teeth

[edit on 29-11-2008 by Lucid Lunacy]

I had three Root Canals on the same tooth and each time it was filled deeper, about 3 quarters of the tooth is a filling so its barely even a tooth really.
I really cant believe they never crowned it because if they had of I probably wouldnt have this problem right now!!

I will let you know on monday what happens,

Again, thankyou for your reply Lucid Lunacy muchly appreciated :-)

[edit on 29-11-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

[edit on 29-11-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

Go see the dentist asap, it's the only way. And sooner the better. In the meantime, I recommend honey. Google honey and tooth decay, and you'll see what I mean. It's mother nature's antibiotics.

reply to post by Hellmutt


Sounds interesting, i will go and look now
Thankyou for your advice Hellmutt :-)

i had a tooth break off years ago, right down to the gumline. i was suppose to have a root canal years ago, but i was scared. since i put it off for so many years, it started hurting really bad a few months ago. and i finally had it pulled on monday. getting a tooth pulled does not hurt at all, it is kinda sickening hearing it crackle and pop, but no pain.

the part after getting it pulled is the worst part, because you cant eat and/or drink whatever you want. im a survivor though...

go see the dentist, it wont be that bad. dont let your tooth get bad like i did, just go get it over with. i am glad i did now.

peace

Originally posted by Beauty_HairyBeast
I had three Root Canals on the same tooth and each time it was filled deeper, about 3 quarters of the tooth is a filling so its barely even a tooth really.

Wow.

I have had 7 root canals myself, but all separate teeth. Three in the same one is nuts! That was either a weird dentist or a weird tooth!

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy


Maybe thats why she left? Strange because I asked a couple of times why had she left and no-one in the dentist could give a reason they just shrugged it off

I will definately be asking questions on monday regarding my root canal/crown issue and may even go looking for a new dentist because i already feel I will get nowhere......im frustrated now lol

reply to post by pureevil81


Yes Ive also had a Wisdom out and it didnt hurt either, its funny cause i dont mind having the needle, drilling etc

I would never not go to the dentist, i love my Rotting Teeth too much...Wahaaaa lol no really they are not that bad!!

Just the thought of the dentist makes my heart beat fast and I feel so weak sitting waiting to be seen, its irrational really and I dont know why im so scared?!

Thankyou for your reply Pureevil81 and I hope they dont Pull It!!!

[edit on 29-11-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

reply to post by Beauty_HairyBeast


so you have experience, thats good in a way i suppose.

i know the fear of the dentist, when i had my tooth pulled i was sweating badly, and i was literally shaking. i am absolutely terrified of dentists. this one i have now though really gained some trust from me.

for me, i just had the one really bad tooth, i chipped it on a peice of bone in a steak that should not have been there, then i lived in fear of the dentist for years. yeah, its that bad for me.

its good that your not in any pain now, if you do have pain i recommend oil of clove. it works well.

take care.

Its good to know im not the only who feels this way about the dentist!! Take care also :-)

After all this nonsense with my tooth is over hopefully it will just be a check up every six months for years to come.



[edit on 29-11-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

Just make sure you keep your mouth sensibly clean.... ie brush and floss after meals. And Scope, or other mouthwash kills all the bad stuff in your mouth.

The last thing you want is to get an infection, that's essentially what an abcess is, and is where all of the pain comes in.

For any swelling, normal ibuprofen drops that, as long as you aren't allergic or such.

Good Luck.

Thankyou Threedeuce thats exactly what im doing and up until now there has been no pain just a slight ache.

Roll on tomorrow......

Well, i managed to get an appointment today! I was told that there is not enough tooth for a crown :-( and I had 2 options

Patch the tooth
Refill the whole lot

So being a chicken I went for the patch and if it falls off I have to have the whole thing refilled and if that fails I guess they will extract the damn thing and replace it with a bridge? Although im not sure.

Im not a happy bunny today :-( I hate teeth!!!

[edit on 1-12-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

reply to post by Beauty_HairyBeast


Hmm... not familiar with a "patch" hehe.

Can you describe what they did a little more? Was there any filing?

Hi Again :-)

Yeah sorry, they filled in the missing bit of tooth basically it took them about two minutes.
Its one of my back molars, well its nearly all filling as i said before and the only bit of tooth left was the at the back.

I had geared myself up for a Crown but its a no go

The Tooth is now officially dead....

[edit on 1-12-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]

reply to post by Beauty_HairyBeast


I had two full molar root canals years ago.Had no problems with them and no fear of pain either as the nerves are removed during the process...as yours will have been too.

I was 'patched up' too.. but only long enough to make sure there was no infection and to make sure the rods they inserted had filled the roots of the teeth for support.

It's a fairly soft material they use for the patching and wears down with eating on it.

They seem to have forgotten to put the final cap on the tooth.I got two gold ones.They feel a little tight at first but then you never notice it..No funny taste,no decay,no problem.

Definitely ask why they didn't follow up on the completion of the initial treatment.

If they have to redo the filling I would ask for their apparent mistake to be considered before the bill is presented to you,as it would not have needed redone with the permanent cap fitted.

Have fun, say AHHHHHHH!

Yes, I did ask why they had not crowned (is that the same as cap?) it and they reckon I dont have enough tooth to do one?
Also here in the uk we have a payment called Child Tax Credits if your income is below a certain amount this entitles us to recieve free dental care (NHS).
I sometimes feel that because Im not a "Paying Customer" they seem to not care as much, i sat for half an hour waiting to be called in today whilst watching people come in the door, be called in immediately, then pay by card as they left (its like this every time I go). With someone like myself the dentist have to claim thier money back.
This is where my fear comes from....it does my head in!! :bnghd:

The filling is a kind of grey/off white (you dont get white fillings if you are entitled to a free dentist because white is classed as cosmetic, unless its your front teeth) and its quite rough, i guess it will wear down soon enough.
Im very grateful that I receive help but if I were a paying customer im sure I would receive better treatment all round.

Jo

[edit on 1-12-2008 by Beauty_HairyBeast]