I bit hard on a crowned tooth

[oceanmd]

This is a zirconia crown placed 2 years ago. I bit hard on a seed that was at the very end of kiwi fruit. I felt somewhat a sudden change in that tooth. It happened a month ago. Now, the crowned tooth is aching, it is a dull irritating pain.

What could have happened? The crown itself did not crack.

what could be hurting now?

Should I give more time? Can the tooth calm down on its own?

Thank you for your suggestions and recommendations.

 

[Dr M]

It might be that you cracked something underneath the crown. Difficult to say for sure. Best would be to take an x-ray of the affected tooth. In the mean time you could try and take some anti-inflammatory medicine.

 

[oceanmd]

I have been taking Advil but stopped. If I cracked something underneath the crown, will x-ray show it. What if x-ray does not show anything, what is then?

 

[Dr M]

The x-ray could still show any pathology around the root tips. If the x-rays shows nothing, I would start a short course antibiotics. The crack might be superficial, but still in the nerve, and you can't see beneath a zirconia crown on an x-ray. If the pain then returns, you would need to initiate a root canal through the crown

 

[oceanmd]

1. If there is a superficial crack in the nerve, can antibiotics calm it down? even a month later after it happened?

2. Is it really possible to do root canal through the crown? Will the dentist be able to access the root well?

3. Can zirconia crown be removed for root canal treatment?

4. I am scheduled to do the scan for the implant crown that is right next to the crowed tooth. these are upper teeth: the implant is tooth #4 from the middle, and hurting tooth is #5 from the center.

can i proceed with the implant crown or wait untill i know what to do with the hurting tooth?

thank you very much