Pain when chewing after root canal?

Question

I had to have a root canal about a month ago. I grind my teeth in my sleep, and fractured a tooth (it's my back bottom molar, right side) - I found out because it hurt to chew on that side.

The endodontist performed the root canal, filled the tooth, and my dentist put on a temporary crown. I've been wearing the temporary crown for about 3 weeks. I am still experiencing sharp pain from that tooth when I chew (that's the ONLY time it hurts, though - it's not sensative to hot or cold, doesn't hurt to be touched, it's not swollen or anything...).

Is this normal? Is it ok? I'm hoping this is a result of keeping the temporary crown on for a few weeks... my insurance renews on Jan. 1, so they were waiting to put the crown on to get that covered by my insurance. But could this be a failed root canal?

I've had root canals before (for the same reason), and they all went off without a hitch. They never hurt after the procedure when chewing or otherwise...

Thank you!

Answer 1

It sounds like the fracture was not just in the crown of your tooth but also down the root. If this is the case, the tooth will likely have to be removed.

What troubles me is that if you are fracturing teeth due to grinding, you need a bruxism appliance. I hope your dentist recommended one to you.

Also, I hope that your dentist left the root canal tooth a tad shorter than normal so that it does not take too much pressure and stress while chewing or grinding.

Finally, it is possible that there is too much filling material in the tooth. This can be easily remedied by having your dentist shave a bit of it down.

If your problem is eventually resolved, get a porcelain crown on the tooth right away because the root canal therapy renders the tooth very brittle and succeptible to fracturing under normal biting stresses. Since you grind your teeth, you are even further at risk for fractures.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The temporary crown may be too high so when you chew you are putting all of your pressure on that tooth first which will cause the tooth to be sensitive even though it has had a root canal. Go see your dentist and have him adjust the bite on the temporary and give it a few days to see if the tooth feels better. This is very common and it is very easy to fix. If that does not take care of it then the root of the tooth could be cracked and even though you have had the root canal done you would still have some pain. If the root of the tooth is cracked then you will need to have the tooth taken out. Grinding your teeth can do this to the roots of your teeth. You should have a night guard made to sleep in at night to protect your teeth from any further damage caused by the grinding. Good Luck and I hope that you feel better soon.

Answer 3

Healing does take time. However, in this situation I don't know how hard you grind your teeth but that might be preventing the healing process somewhat. It would be a good idea to visit your dentist and/or surgeon and have this attended to prior to having your crown put on. Just because you haven't had any previous problems doesn't mean that you won't have future ones. You have been most fortunate in the past having no problems at all with any previous root canals.

Answer 4

KATIE,
YOUR ROOT CANAL IS MOST LIKELY GOOD, W/O A PROBLEM.
CHANCES ARE THAT THIS TEMPORARY IS A LITTLE TOO HIGH SO THAT EVERY TIME YOU CHEW PAIN IS FELT.
HAVE THE DENTIST DO A SMALL ADJUSTMENT TO THE BITE WITH THE TEMPORARY CROWN BEFORE THE PERMANENT ONE IS DELIVERED.

Answer 5

It's bound to be uncomfortable for a few days but shouldn't be as painful as you describe. Go back to your dentist when they open on Tuesday and tell them it's an emergency.

Answer 6

yes it is, i got hit in the mouth with a hockey puck and cracked mt tooth like this ( / ) and my tooth started to hurt real bad when i got a temporary one in.

I went to my endodontist and got it all fixed up and after that my tooth really didn't hurt after that, escpecially when i got the crown, take ot from personal experiance