Could my root canal fail?

[Abelieven]

I went to do my 3rd and final treatment of my root canal on my upper, left molar. There was a 2 week break in between treatments. Today I went in and the dentist was saying it hasn't healed properly. He showed me an X-ray which had a very minute darker shade. He said it would be best for me to come back in 3 weeks to finish my tooth off for a higher chance of success. He then packed a lot of "medical stuff" into my tooth to fight the infection quicker. Could this problem mean there is a less chance of success? Or is it fairly common to happen?

 

[rootcanalha]

I wouldn't do a root canal. They failed for me. One RC failed after 3 years, the tooth just disintegrated. Another one failed just after 1 and a half months....

 

[MattKW]

I went to do my 3rd and final treatment of my root canal on my upper, left molar. There was a 2 week break in between treatments. Today I went in and the dentist was saying it hasn't healed properly. He showed me an X-ray which had a very minute darker shade. He said it would be best for me to come back in 3 weeks to finish my tooth off for a higher chance of success. He then packed a lot of "medical stuff" into my tooth to fight the infection quicker. Could this problem mean there is a less chance of success? Or is it fairly common to happen?

A darkness on the X-ray indicates bone loss due to infection or inflammation. The point of an RCT is to take away the infected rubbish in the tooth, and then the bone will heal. But like other bony damage, it'll take months to see any change on an X-ray. Normally, an X-ray is taken right at the end of treatment, then maybe you'll check it again in 3, 6, or 12 months later. A 2 week break won't show anything.