Who has had a root canal, especially on a front tooth?

Question

I had terrible tooth pain on Saturday, and two days before I had some minor kind of "throbbing" pain, but very minor. Well, Saturday it was no longer minor and it hurt so bad I couldn't close my teeth together. I went in to the dentist office Saturday on an emergency call. He xrayed and said I need a root canal. So I said ok and he started it. He drilled the hole in the tooth (top, front/center tooth) and puss etc started draining out. Apparently it was infected a bit cause the nerve was dying. Well he let it drain and filed it out for almost an hour. Then he said he couldn't put a filling in yet because it was infected and draining, so he flooded it with bleach (Sodium Hypochloride) to kill bacteria, rinsed it and packed it with cotton and sent me home with antibiotics and vicodin. I'm not taking the vicodin the pain isn't that bad. Tomorrow I go in to be checked and have the cotton removed, and a temp filling put in. A week later he'll check it and put in the permanent filling.

My question is, how long to root canals last? He said I need no crown because the tooth is not decayed, nor damaged.

I'm just worried because this is a very visual tooth, I don't want it looking bad, turning grey, or being weak or breaking, or a constant source of trouble. Will I be able to bite on it?

I will repeat, since people aren't reading, YES I have an antibiotic, NO the tooth is not being crowned or having a post or pin put it. The tooth is NOT damaged, chipped, cracked, broken in anyway. My dentist said that as long as it goes well I will be able to keep the tooth for the rest of my life. He said if it breaks or chips etc I will need a crown then.

Answer 1

I have quite a few root canals and one on my front tooth,when they are done with the root canal they crown it.It will be fine and so will you.The biggest pain is the amount of appointments and time consumed on this one tooth its pretty exhausting,but when all is said and done it will look beautiful and no one will know.

Answer 2

I had a root canal done on one tooth and I was so deep into it cash wise that I couldn't afford the cap/crown... spent like 1800 and had a post put in... the tooth was very bad looking and a few years down the line it gave me more trouble and I was told a second root canal could be done. I wasn't about to get sucked in for another 2k+ on the very same tooth so I had it pulled for $80 my wife wasn't happy to say the least but I was pain free and had money to pay the bills =)

I realize that this isn't a solution for you seeing that it is your front tooth but make sure to do research on root canals without caps/crowns and the likely hood of needing another root canal such as my case.

I was under the assumption that the drilling killed the nerve when a root canal was done and the tooth was basically dead... but I have no clue why it happened again on the same tooth. I just know if you can afford to have it done correctly by all means do so, but keep in mind depending on your dentists reputation and your relationship with him its always best and wise to investigate further

Answer 3

I had a root canal last Fri. (back tooth) A few years ago my husband had one on his front tooth. his was a bit different then yours, when he was a kid he bounced a pool table and it hit his front tooth. The tooth was his adult tooth that was 3/4 the way in. So his dentist put a temp. tooth in place with plans on replacing it with a permanent fake tooth once all his adult tooth was in. 20 years later his dentist still had not done so. My husband started getting bad pains that he thought was his sinuses . After a few weeks he felt a bulge and someone told him it sounded like an abscessed tooth. It was and he had an emergency root canal (by a different dentist his couldn't see him for weeks I called dentist till someone could see him that day) He was an antibiotics for 3 months the pain went away after the dentist relived the pressure. He did get a cap put on after the 3 months. They just used temporary molding to make a tooth in the meantime. That was 10 years ago and everything is fine now never had any problems after that.

What your dentist is doing is just what mine did last week (except I didn't get any pain meds and I sure could of used them! It took a week before mine could be drained and my cheek was like a balloon the entire time but once he could go in and drain it all the pain went away-it was like heaven)

Answer 4

It all depends on how good your dentist is!!! It really does sound as if he is making every effort to clear out all infection, except he did not send you home with an antibiotic, did he? My son had a root canal on same tooth and within 5 years it started to grey drastically. Ended up with expensive crown just so he could smile. My root canal on one of my bottom teeth in front also did same thing, but it took about 7 years, I also ended up with a crown on it. The root canal is supposed to take out the living nerve; any live matter left in there will eventually decay and cause problems. I wish I had insisted on crown to begin with, when I had money. As it was, it took me six months to get enough money for crown after this tooth turned ugly grey. Good luck and God bless!!!

Answer 5

I had the same tooth need a root canal on it when I was 15. By the time I was 21 I had to have a crown because the discoloring was noticable. The tooth was still very strong but the bleaching did nothing for the color.

My advice to you is to be VERY picky if/when the time comes to get a crown. Have them remake the crown 20 times if you do not feel it looks right.

Answer 6

I just had a root canal done a month ago but it was the back tooth. I went to a dentist that only does root canals, you will be fine I told them to use plenty of Novocaine and the only problem was later that evening (which he told me) there was some throbbing but it wasn't as bad as the toothache, they will give you antibiotics and pain pills, it is also a 2 step appointment .I was scared to death too, listening to other people talk about how painful they are but I have also been told I have a very high pain tolerance.

Answer 7

I'm surprised he's only waiting a week. I would contact an endodontist and ask him what he thinks. I had a root canal and I had to take antibiotics and had to wait 3 months before he'd put in a permanent filling to make sure there was no infection. Especially this being a front tooth..i would not take any chances. I had a side tooth done and I didn't have any puss or anything and he still waited. An endodontist is just a dental specialist. Check your phone book or contact your insurance company for a name and number.

Answer 8

As long as the tooth doesn't crack/break it will last forever. They removed the nerve all the way down into your jaw bone. They will put in a stainless steel pin into to add strength. If your tooth is strong, it will probably last forever.

I had a root canal in 1986, no problems with it since. I have a crown on mine though.

My wife has had many root canals and has broken a few of the teeth with root canals. She had those replaced with implants.

Answer 9

The root canal should last forever. The chances of this tooth turning grey over time is pretty good, so you should ask your dentist about internal bleaching. You probably don't have to worry about it for awhile (it could be months or years before your tooth starts to turn a different color). Glad the tooth is feeling better.

Answer 10

I have. A root canal will make the tooth stronger. It won't show because on front teeth they will drill in from behind on the other side from the front of the tooth. The tooth will probably be sore for a few days though.