Advice regarding an ageing root filling

[andy625]

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Advice regarding an ageing root filling
From:
Time:
2021-05-10 11:09 GMT+01:00
To:
I am a 53yr old male, and have a root filling in one of my front teeth dating from 1989. It has never really given me any trouble until a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed the tooth throbbing occasionally, and the gum above the tooth (under my upper lip) was slightly sore when pressed. It was also slightly sore if I pressed just inside my nostril. It wasn't causing any problems eating though.

I saw my dentist last Thursday who took an x-ray and said there was an infection behind the root and gave me some antibiotics. He said that the root filling was doing quite well to last 32yrs, as the average lifespan of a root filling was about 15yrs. He said that if the antibiotics don't work, the filling may need to be replaced (which he said is difficult and he'd refer me to a specialist), or that the tooth may need to come out.

Can anyone advise me, If the antibiotics don't work, would it be best to try and save the tooth by having the filling replaced? Or would it be better to have the tooth removed, and some sort of implant?

My teeth are generally very good and don't give me any trouble. I have a couple of patches of erosion due to over brushing. The tooth with the root filling is one of them, and I was wondering whether that may be how I got the infection?

If the filling is replaced, I'm wondering how long it will last, and whether it is more likely to give problems? Also, what is likely to be the more longer lasting repair?

 

[MattKW]

He means having the root filling replaced. Just how well that would work it impossible to tell on that info alone. Do you have any Xrays to show us, please?

 

[andy625]

Thanks for the reply. I had x-ray taken, but my dentist has them so can't post them unfortunately.

I've just finished a course of antibiotics and things seem to have calmed down and the tooth isn't giving any discomfort at the moment, so I'm hoping that will last.

Is it possible that I just aggravated the gum around the root of the tooth somehow, and that the discomfort was only temporary?

 

[MattKW]

I couldn't say without the Xray. Nearly everyone has digital Xray machines nowadays, and they can be simply emailed as JPEGs or TIFFs.

 

[andy625]

Thanks, that makes sense. Unfortunately although I was shown the x-ray film, I don't know whether it was digital.