Unnecessary root canal?? I felt no pain before going to the dentist.?

Question

I went to the dentist last week for checkup with no pain or complaints and he ordered a root canal on my top left rearmost molar-- b/c he said it had a cavity that would eventually reach the root.
Is it normal practice to give a patient who felt perfectly fine a root canal? I asked him on the second visit and he claims that although the decay doesn't show on the x-ray it did when he drilled in (although he decided on the root canal before that).
Was this guy out to make money? I'm 25 and have had only one cavity until now-- he also ordered 4 cavities. I'll be pretty angry if this was unnecessary b/c I now realize that I'll have a problem tooth for the rest of my life.

It was HMO assigned and since I got laid off I had to see him before my insurance got cut off. I mean- is this pretty common or should I file a complaint? Maybe small claims?

There was no infected pulp; it hadn't reached there yet...I was bit too trusting

If it's called for when an infection reaches the root, wouldn't I have felt it?

It's already been done- I trusted his decision at the time, not knowing what it really meant.

I read about it later and found out it's only done when there's infected pulp, and I had none

Answer 1

It's impossible to give a definite answer because we can't see the Xrays. It is quite possible not to feel pain despite a hole reaching down to the nerve canal.
Your other alternative is an extraction. If it's the 2nd or 3rd molar (wisdom tooth) from the front, then it's not absolutely necessary to save it. Studies have shown that we only need as far as the 1st molar to function properly.
Before going back for the other cavities, can you get a 2nd opinion? You should be able to take the Xrays or copies to another dentist.

Answer 2

Get another opinion, I have always had problems with my teeth as I am calcium deficient. I am 25 & have had 2 root canals need another 2 done! However I did see one dentist that wanted me to have 8 done! I saught out a 2nd opinion... only 4 needed to be done, the others were deep cavitys that if filled would be fine for 10 to 20 years! There are cheats for dentists out there the one that did my first root canal let me scream through the entire thing & keep calling me a baby and the cheated me out of tons of money as they removed to much tooth so I cant even get a crown so the tooth will have to be removed. Be carefull in choosing a dentist, I recommnded calling the B.B.B before seeing one. Best of Luck

Answer 3

I had a dentist once that said my fillings were just fine as they were. Then he and his dental group moved into a brand new fancy dancy office with all the latest bells and whistles. Well the rent must have been very high because all of a sudden all those fine fillings needed to be replaced. It did not take long to figure out that he was put under pressure to get the billings up. A root canal is saved for a tooth that needs it, meaning the infection is already in the root. You have a tooth with no infection and he wants to do this why, because it is 800 dollars that is why. You can always do a root canal when and if it is needed, I think you need to find a new dentist. I would tell this guy to kiss my rear end.

Answer 4

If the tooth is grey it is dying. It is less painful and easier to get a root canal before the tooth gets infected. There is no guarantee it will become infected, but if it does then you have to take a full course of antibiotics and some pain killers until the dentist can work on it. Yes, you probably need a root canal.

Answer 5

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RE:
Unnecessary root canal?? I felt no pain before going to the dentist.?
I went to the dentist last week for checkup with no pain or complaints and he ordered a root canal on my top left rearmost molar-- b/c he said it had a cavity that would eventually reach the root.
Is it normal practice to give a patient who felt perfectly fine a root canal? I asked him on the...

Answer 6

He had NERVE deciding before your second visit to do rot canal.< since it was decided ahead of time. I would get a second opinion.. You may need a root canal and a crown later. No guarantee how long they last. Some last years,others do not because decay can still form under crowns. Ask for a written guarantee that a root canal will last. I do not think he will give you one.
Get the tooth extracted, it will be less problematic in the long run. My son had 3 root canals, all 3 fell apart.

Answer 7

Depends upon how often you go to the dentist.

I take EXCEPTIONAL care of my teeth, and all but 3 of them have had cavities, and only one has required a root canal.

Some had pain, some took me by surprise.

The root canal one had no pain. But you are right, the tooth can become problematic...mine completely broke (and I couldn't cap it because at the time, there were no metal alternatives and I'm allergic to metal), so now I have 2 pieces of tooth, broken apart, but hey, it's not hurting, so I'm not going to have it pulled.

Answer 8

I would get a second opinion if you haven't got it done. If the tooth isn't bothering you, I would wait before doing a major procedure like that. With root canals comes crowns. Even with insurance it is still pricey.

Answer 9

You have no basis for claiming liability. Maybe you had 4 cavities that your previous dentist did not detect. There is ALWAYS more decay than is evident on an x-ray, so the x-ray would look like the decay "almost" reaches the nerve. Without seeing your tooth or your x-ray, nobody here will really be able to advise you.

Answer 10

if he decided you needed a root canal before doing work on your teeth , change dentists.