Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with canal

My root canal... it tickles?

raztaj — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:18:52 -0800

What is this sensation I'm feeling after getting a root canal? I had a root canal on a molar exactly three weeks ago. Some of the alveolar bone between the roots had been lost, but when I went back to the dentist today to have a post put in, the x-ray indicated it was healing extremely well, and showed "significant" bone restoration - (way cool, and yay!).

But every now and then I feel a slight tingly (not painful, not sensitive, not uncomfortable), almost fizzy feeling under the tooth in question. It sort of feels like tiny seltzer bubbles, but the feeling lasts only 1-4 seconds. I don't feel it every day, but when it does happen, it's usually in bursts of a few times an hour. I forgot to ask the dentist about it since I haven't had the feeling for several days, doesn't cause any discomfort, and doesn't appear to be indicative of any post-root canal problems.

What is this sensation? What is causing the fizzy feeling? Might the feeling have something to do with bone growth? Is it even possible to feel bone growth?

Papa Needs a Brand New Crown

theefixedstars — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:39:16 -0800

Dental filter: I just visited a dentist who told me that I chipped one of my molars and that I'd need a crown for it. He said that since I'm not really having pain associated with it (it's a little sensitive, but that's it) I don't need to have a root canal. Is getting a crown instead of a root canal wise? He said that it's possible I may need to get a root canal down the line, but after looking at my x-ray and talking to me about pain, that it wasn't necessary at this point. He said if I had come in complaining about pain that he would have recommended the root canal first. Of course, now the affected molar is piping up with a song that sounds suspiciously like pain.

I don't have dental insurance, and while paying for crown and root canal (both ~ $1,200 each) over an extended period would be possible, it would also be painful (I'm moving in a month and a half to a place where I currently have no prospect of getting a job with any dental benefits).

Is this a common procedure, the crown without the canal? I know you are not dentists, not my dentist, etc., but I'm searching for similar stories and helpful wisdom. I thank you, my molar thanks you, my softly aching jaw thanks you.

Where can I ice skate a canal in or near Amsterdam?

paul_smatatoes — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:59:12 -0800

I'm visiting Amsterdam this winter, and I'd love to go for a pretty afternoon skate on a frozen canal, like so. How can I go about it?

dental insurance with no waiting period?

ac — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:34:26 -0800

I need to have a root canal, build-up and crown done on a molar - almost $2,000 worth of work. I have no dental insurance. Is there any private dental insurance I can buy, either in Idaho or New Jersey, that doesn't have a waiting period for this kind of work? I realize that it probably will cover only a fraction of the work, but I really need to have the work done and am trying to minimize the financial pain (will need to take a loan, in any case). I spend time in both Idaho and New Jersey and can have it done either place. I am self-employed. Thank you all very much in advance!

Student can finally eat but can no longer afford food.

guniang — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:52:54 -0800

Is a crown necessary after having a root canal? I had a root canal a few days ago and the total cost is about 1500 (originally 1700 but I get 10% if I pay with cash) dollars. This includes the crown and if I don't need one I'd rather not pay for it.

I'm a student and while I COULD pay this entire bill (have about $1600 in savings/checking) I would be left with nothing for the next semester. I probably shouldn't have stupidly said yes to the root canal without waiting for my parents to come with me to the office but I was really shocked and the dentist said it was urgent and I need to have the root canal (not to mention they (parents) were yelling at me and just hung up when I called them back after they told me they'd call me back)...So is a root canal necessary and if it isn't can I tell them I'm choosing not to have the crown??? Its a bicuspid #13 and the crown they want to put in is porcelain. Right now I have a temporary crown.

One of my teeth is pink. What is this??

mintchip — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:03:50 -0800

One of my teeth is pink. What is this?? I just had a dental cleaning and the hygienist said that I have a "pink tooth." She said that this tooth has what seems to be a "huge" cavity on the x-ray. Unfortunately I don't have an appointment with the actual dentist until next week and the hygienist wouldn't say any more except that it was "very strange" that my tooth has a pink color and that she was unsure as to what the cause was.

I looked in the mirror and this tooth (it's in the back of my mouth) *does* have a pinkish hue to it.

I'm a little worried; basically because I don't have dental insurance and dental work is SO expensive. Also, I brush and floss EVERY day and haven't had a cavity in years so I'm wondering what in the world could cause a "pink tooth" (whatever that is) and how much of a cause for concern this is. I do not want to have a root canal!

P.S. everyone, DO NOT put off your dental cleanings/exams. I used to go like clockwork every six months and never had any dental problems at all. Just recently I tried to start going a little longer between cleanings...maybe 8 or 9 months. Now suddenly I've got dental problems to worry about. I was trying to save money. This sucks!

Vector street map of Columbus, OH suburb?

UnclePlayground — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:19:07 -0800

Can you help me locate editable vector street map of southeastern suburbs of Columbus, Ohio? Specifically something that I can open up in Adobe Illustrator, and change the typeface, colors, etc.
Also, that covers the areas of Reynoldsburg, Pickerington, and Canal Winchester.
There is some money in a budget to pay for the map, but not a lot.
Thanks in advance.

Can the coronation of my tooth wait until January '09 when my treasury will be filled?

elkerette — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:56:45 -0800

How long can I wait after a root-canal on a molar to get a crown put on? So I took rotten care of my teeth for the last few years (went through an irresponsible "Mummy isn't forcing me to go, so I won't" stage coupled with a move to a new city away form my family dentist).

I had some pain in back molar and, after doing copious research, found a great dentist here in Toronto.

Thus far, he has performed:

1 dental exam
1 full xray
1 partial xray
1 polishing
2 scalings (preventative and perio)
1 basic filling
1 root canal
1 “restorative service” on the root canal tooth

I had booked three further appointments. 1 to take care of some small cavities located under a sealant placed by my former dentist. 1 to prep my root canaled tooth for a crown and 1 to place the actual crown.

My dentist (and the Canadian Dental Association's website) indicate that post-root canal your tooth needs the support of a crown in order to prevent cracking and futher damage (since it is now essentially dead).

My problem is that I have just reached the maximum dental benefit of $1500 that my company insurer is able to pay for the calendar year.

Needless to say, I am loathe to pay $1500 or so for a new crown when my benefits provider should be covering 50% of that cost.

My question: how long post-root canal can I wait until getting the crown placed without risking damaging my tooth too badly? Can I wait until January 2009 when Great West Life will kick in its share?

Further info: the dentist in his "restorative service" on the root canal, removed the temporary filling and replaced it with a permanent one. It's not like I still have the piece of putty in my tooth...

I know you are not necessarily a dentist, nor are you MY dentist, but I would really appreciate your advice!

Need dentist second opinion.

spacefire — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:33:46 -0800

Teeth Grinding and Root Canal. Should I get a second dentist's opinion? So apparently I've been grinding my teeth so much one of them has a big hole in it. I thought it was a cavity, but the dentist said it was from the griding. That tooth had hurt for a while in contact with hard foods or sweet stuff, but now it doesn't hurt anymore.
Anyway, I thought it needed a filling but the dentist said root canal outright. He said it a bit too soon, in my opinion, I don't think the X-Rays were even developed at the time. (I haven't seen the X-Rays myself)
Besides the root canal I would get a point, I think that's what it was called, also a crown, and then I would have to see someone else for the night-time grinding and the existing damage to my teeth. He did, however, recommend I get a night time teeth guard from the pharmacy which I did.
I also have been having a sore throat and was prescribed antibiotics by the dentist for it...can they do that? Didn't get my teeth cleaning because of the sore throat, which means probably another copay when time comes for that.

So, doing a bit of research here, it seems that with my insurance coverage I would pay about 100 dollars for a root canal. From what I understand root canals are needed when the tooth is decaying. My problem is not an infection, but rather mechanical action. I'm not sure the nerve is exposed, he said that the 'red' you can see at the bottom of the hole is due to the nerve being close to the surface, and the pain is cause by the nerve swelling and then going back down for periods of no pain.

Should I get a second opinion? The catch is that since it's hard to get a dentist appointment soon enough during the weekend or off work hours I would have to take some time off from work, which I have been doing a lot lately.

But I really feel the diagnosis was a rushed and the dentist shifty.
Is there a chance the root canal is not needed?
That another dentist might say a filling and using an OTC nightguard is enough?

No ice in Ottawa?

kamelhoecker — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:10:11 -0800

I'm going to Ottawa tomorrow, and I just found out that the Rideau Canal is officially closed for the season. What? It's -9C in Ottawa and is staying below zero for the next few days. So, what are my chances of getting some ice skating in? I also saw maintenance dudes driving their pickup on the ice today on the canal webcam, so this seems to be more of a policy issue than a safety one. I'd love to know if it's possible to skate on parts of the canal when it's "officially" closed or if there are any other ponds or great places for ice skating in the Ottawa area.

Cheaper root canal?

tessalations999 — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:41:03 -0800

Root Canals for cheaper? I have to get two root canals asap. I live in New York, and have a dental plan that saves a lot, but they are still a whopping 1300 each with the crown. I have heard that people travel to Texas, Mexico, etc. to get them done. Is this cheaper? Safe? Any suggestions for how to afford this? Would a better insurance plan like Blue Cross Blue Shield etc be better for covering these? Thank you so much!!!

I have a toothache

Sassyfras — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:21:03 -0800

My tooth hurts . . . a lot and it shouldn't because it's dead. I had a root canal on my #18 tooth (tooth before wisdom tooth on the bottom left) about 3 years ago. About six months ago my tooth started hurting - aching a little here and there, especially when I'd eat something warm or hot. I visited my dentist who noticed that the crown on that tooth wasn't fitting correctly so he made me a new one. That seemed to take care of the problem until . . . . a month or so later when it started hurting again.

I went to the dentist again but for a filling on a different tooth (two away from the aching tooth). My toothache then went away! But sadly, it's come back with a vengence. I am sensitive to hot, cold and pressure now. And it throbs. ALL THE TIME.

How can this be? Doesn't having a root canal mean that my tooth can't feel anything now? I'm visiting the endodontist on Friday but would like to be armed with as much information as possible about my supposedly dead roots.

Root canal: Now or later?

globetrotter30 — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 08:00:25 -0800

Root canal: Now or later? Woe is me. Found out yesterday that I'm probably going to need my very first root canal. Scary in and of itself, but the problem? I'm heading out of the country on Thursday for five weeks. And I'll be in Romania, too, which is not the sort of place where you want to have emergency dental work done! At this point I don't know how "bad" it is, all the dentist was able to tell me was that he suspects one may be needed so he referred me to an endontist.

I've made an appointment with said local endontist for an evaluation on Monday. The receptionist I spoke with said that if I wanted - and the evaluation confirms it's just a routine root canal needed - the doctor may be able to perform the procedure on the spot that very day so the problem could be taken care of before my trip. But I can't help but wonder if it's risky to do that so soon (less than 72 hours) before I hop on a plane overseas? Might it be better to wait until I get back? My ultimate goal here: To under no circumstances have to set foot in a Romanian dentist's office. So all other things being equal, what is the bigger risk: To have a root canal done now and have it potentially become infected while I'm gone, or to let it go for over a month and have whatever nastiness is inside my tooth just keep getting worse and worse and worse? The latter option would require copious amounts of pain medication to boot because this thing already hurts like the dickens. Which leads me to believe that letting this go untreated for another 5-6 weeks could be very bad news, possibly much worse news that having an post-root canal infection.

I of course am going to let the endontist and my dentist be the primary advisors in this decision. But I won't be able to talk to them until Monday, and if this decision is presented to me I suspect I'll have to make up my mind right there as I'm sitting in the chair. So I'm trying to arm myself with as many questions for them as I can so my snap decision feels at least somewhat less snappy. Any thoughts for things I should take into consideration, anecdotal or otherwise, are most appreciated!

To root canal or not to root canal?

eatcake — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 15:52:23 -0800

To root canal or not to root canal? I never thought it would happen to me but here I am one emergency pulpectomy later, wondering if I should go ahead with the root canal procedure or just have the tooth extracted. Easy choice you might say, but wait...there's more. Well not really that much more. I guess my main dilema at this point is the cost of the whole thing. I go to a dental school for the work and while they have been great so far (knock on wood) it's still damn expensive!

It would end up costing close to $1000 USD to get the root canal done (drilling, scraping, bleaching, crown and all) while it would cost only $87 USD to get the tooth extracted.

The tooth mentioned is the second molar on the top right side of my beautiful beautiful mouth. I've already got my top wisdom teeth (third molars) extracted from before so what's another one right? But one tooth here and one tooth there and before you know it I have no teeth.

What do I do? Do I get myself a $1000 tooth? or an $87 memory?
Anyone have experience with this?