Pain under 10 year old crown - root canal required?

[tnt579]

A few months ago I started having the following on the tooth with my oldest crown (lower right molar, not the back one, but next to it):

• Very sensitive to hot/cold
• Very sensitive to chewing anything that takes more pressure than a piece of bread
• Occasional weird feeling of pressure - hard to describe, not painful, and not persistent
• Occasional dull or slightly throbbing pain that is not persistent, and not severe pain at all
• There are also periods of time where I don't have any of those issues (besides the sensitivity, that's consistent)

The dentist I've been using jumped immediately to wanting to do a root canal without doing anything more than a surface examination and sensitiviy test. But I'm wondering if that has to happen? Is it possible that it just needs to be re-crowned? A root canal+new crown is obviously very expensive, and I don't want to do it unless I absolutely have to. Is it worth getting a second opinion or is she right that the root canal is most likely what's needed? Thanks

 

[Dr M]

If the dentist did not do an x-ray, I would definitely recommend getting a second opinion. I would not jump to any sort of conclusion that a root canal is needed, if there is not more evidence that it is required, for example an x-ray with visible pathology.

 

[tnt579]

If the dentist did not do an x-ray, I would definitely recommend getting a second opinion. I would not jump to any sort of conclusion that a root canal is needed, if there is not more evidence that it is required, for example an x-ray with visible pathology.

Thanks for the reply, I'm looking into that today. So there are some scenarios where what I'm describing might only need a "re-crown" (for lack of a better term)?

While we're here, they're also recommending a root canal for the far back molar right next to it ("while they're in there") because it's cracked. It's a decent crack, I've seen it - it's also probably been there a long time. The tooth has an old and very large filling in it. But it shows no signs of decay and gives me zero problems, so I'm wondering if that's premature as well, or if even just a crown might fix that one, too. Thanks again

 

[Dr M]

If there is no sign of infection, then it is not say that a root canal is required. If the pulp is not clearly involved, you can still consider doing a crown or even a large inlay.

 

[Naman Dentist]

As a dentist, I recommend a thorough examination and X-rays to assess the tooth. If the pulp is unaffected, a re-crown may be sufficient, but a second opinion can help confirm the best treatment.