So currently I am a 25 year old female.
A little backstory:
I went to the dentist in July 2017 when I was 23 after 2 years of not going (no dental insurance, student loans) due to my upper left molar #16 having chipped a little bit at the gumline. I noticed one day when I got food stuck up there and felt the gap between my tooth and gumline. When I went in, the dentist notified me I had been grinding my teeth and that my lower right molar #32 was badly damaged and the roots were close to the jaw and needed a root canal right away. I was not feeling any pain in that tooth, but I trusted him. I went ahead and did it and got a crown on it as well. 6 months later, I got the root canal on #16 along with a crown. I haven’t had any pain with either teeth since.
Fast forward a year, I have also gotten a crown on #31. The dentist informed me I now needed a root canal on my lower left molar #17. Feeling frustrated by all the dental work I had been getting and being low on funds, I sought a second opinion.
A different dentist did a thorough inspection of my teeth and informed me I only needed a filling on #17 (yay!). He performed an x-ray on me and went over what he saw with me. This is where my main concern comes in.
He pointed at the roots on the first root canal I had done a year and a half ago #32. He mentioned that the area around the roots hadn’t completely healed and that we’d have to keep a close eye on it. He asked if I had been feeling any pain to which I said no. So my questions are:
* One important thing about this tooth that I feel I should mention is that there is a small gap between the crown and my gumline. My gumline has not receded, it was put in that way and I never really payed attention to it until I noticed food would get stuck there when I ate. I had no idea whether or not crowns had to come all the way down to the gumline. Could this maybe be attributing to my tooth not healing?
I'm looking for any and all advice on this. My teeth have been a major stressor for me for the past few years but I'm trying to make the necessary strides in getting and maintaining healthy teeth! Thank you so much!
TLDR: I had a root canal done with a crown on #32 a year and a half ago (crown is not snug with my gums). X-rays from yesterday show area around my roots haven’t completely healed. I’m feeling no pain. Is there a chance it could heal? Are retreatment/extraction my only options? Should I get another opinion from an endodontist?
A little backstory:
I went to the dentist in July 2017 when I was 23 after 2 years of not going (no dental insurance, student loans) due to my upper left molar #16 having chipped a little bit at the gumline. I noticed one day when I got food stuck up there and felt the gap between my tooth and gumline. When I went in, the dentist notified me I had been grinding my teeth and that my lower right molar #32 was badly damaged and the roots were close to the jaw and needed a root canal right away. I was not feeling any pain in that tooth, but I trusted him. I went ahead and did it and got a crown on it as well. 6 months later, I got the root canal on #16 along with a crown. I haven’t had any pain with either teeth since.
Fast forward a year, I have also gotten a crown on #31. The dentist informed me I now needed a root canal on my lower left molar #17. Feeling frustrated by all the dental work I had been getting and being low on funds, I sought a second opinion.
A different dentist did a thorough inspection of my teeth and informed me I only needed a filling on #17 (yay!). He performed an x-ray on me and went over what he saw with me. This is where my main concern comes in.
He pointed at the roots on the first root canal I had done a year and a half ago #32. He mentioned that the area around the roots hadn’t completely healed and that we’d have to keep a close eye on it. He asked if I had been feeling any pain to which I said no. So my questions are:
- Is there a chance my root canal can heal even a year and a half after I had it done? Are there any ways I can help it heal?
- If it doesn’t heal, what are my options? Retreatment? Extraction? I know it varies case to case, but I’ve had this tooth for a year and a half with seemingly no problems.
- Should I get another opinion from an endodontist?
* One important thing about this tooth that I feel I should mention is that there is a small gap between the crown and my gumline. My gumline has not receded, it was put in that way and I never really payed attention to it until I noticed food would get stuck there when I ate. I had no idea whether or not crowns had to come all the way down to the gumline. Could this maybe be attributing to my tooth not healing?
I'm looking for any and all advice on this. My teeth have been a major stressor for me for the past few years but I'm trying to make the necessary strides in getting and maintaining healthy teeth! Thank you so much!
TLDR: I had a root canal done with a crown on #32 a year and a half ago (crown is not snug with my gums). X-rays from yesterday show area around my roots haven’t completely healed. I’m feeling no pain. Is there a chance it could heal? Are retreatment/extraction my only options? Should I get another opinion from an endodontist?