Had a root canal on February 5th and it still hurts

[zbs60]

HI

I had a root canal on February 5th. I previously had a root canal about 10 years ago and the tooth felt fine after it was permanently crowned. This time the tooth hurt from day one. I had my regular dentist take xrays a couple of weeks ago and said everything looked fine and that it might take a few weeks for the pain to go away. Its now 3/15/20 and its still bothering me. I am worried that this job was rushed. This job took 40 to 45 minutes to complete. The other one I had 10 years ago took about an hour and 15 minutes. Both these root canals were done my endodontists. The job that was done 10 years ago the endodontists used small brushes and took some time to clean the canals. This latest root canal I don't believe the endodontists used brushes but had a high pressure gun to help seal the canals. How long should it take an experienced endodontist to do a root canal? Thanks

 

[MattKW]

My endodontist typically takes at least 2-3 hours for a molar over at least 2 appointments. Of course, I don't give him the easy ones. Call up the endodontist and he will probably check it for free. If still not sure, go to another endo for 2nd opinion.

 

[honestdoc]

The straight forward root canals (not extremely curved or calcified) usually takes me 20 minutes per canal. A 4 canal molar would take me about 40 to 50 minutes (20 minutes per canal working simultaneously, anesthesia, accessing the canals, and placing the rubber dam). It takes 20 minutes for the disinfectant (full strength bleach and EDTA chelating agent) to clean all the micro anatomies in the canal. Since I'm blessed with the latest equipment (Wave One reciprocating rotary files taking less than a minute to fully shape the entire canal), I go slow motion to meet my 20 minute requirement.

I always ask the patient before the procedure what his/her pain levels are. I tell the patient that after the root canal, the pain level could increase up to 4 levels from the initial pain. If the initial pain level is 4 out of 10 or higher and/or have a full blown abscess and swelling, I recommend 2 appointments about 6 weeks apart with the canals filled with calcium hydroxide paste in between visits. Almost always after the 6 weeks, there will be no pain or swelling for me to place the final fillings. If there is further pain and or swelling, there could be a potential fracture, missed canal(s) or other damage. Fractures can be very difficult to detect even when using an operating microscope.

 

[zbs60]

Thanks for taking time to post. The tooth still hurts. Isnt a 4 canal molar unusual I thought they only had three. Ive been trying to delay thinking it might settle down. But, I think that's wishful thinking at this point. I also remember from my first root canal the dentist went all the way to the end of the root with a brush, I don't remember this endodontist doing that . She just used a blue piece of paper to penetrate the core of the roots. She did use a drill bit with a rubber belt around it. By the way, this tooth I don't believe was infected. It didn't hurt hardly at all compared to the previous one.

 

[PatDavid]

I had a one-hour root canal that left me with significant pain. I could not eat solid food. The endodontist claimed to use a more efficient system than other endodontists who took more time. A few months later I saw a different endodontist who, over the course of two longer appointments, cleaned out the 1.5 canals the first endodontist missed during the one-hour root canal. Good luck.

 

[zbs60]

Thanks for the reply. Its April 4th and the tooth is still bothering me. If it wasnt for this corona virus Id go in to see her. Theres just to many medical offices in the building. Was your tooth crowned when it was redone?

 

[PatDavid]

Thanks for the reply. Its April 4th and the tooth is still bothering me. If it wasnt for this corona virus Id go in to see her. Theres just to many medical offices in the building. Was your tooth crowned when it was redone?

If this was meant for me, yes, the second endodontist had to drill through the crown to clean out the canals the first endodontist missed. A filling was placed on top of the crown that worked fine.

 

[Sonia Salamuri]

Hi, how is your tooth going?