Was the root canal really necessary?

[Tragedy18]

A few days ago I started having a tooth ache. It was a constant ache over the two days but it wasn't sensitive to hot or cold drinks, in fact, in a sense it caused relief. Went to the dentist and my doctor said they will do an X-ray. She wasn't certain based on the X-ray but said based on my symptoms I needed a root canal. I'm midway through the process, the nerves were too painful to work on even after numbing it so my doctor applied medication to kill the nerve and we rescheduled.

I can't help but feel amiss. After the first appointment, she gave antibiotic and painkillers but after two days I didn't need the painkillers anymore. I asked my doctor at my next appointment, that the pain was gone and was it still necessary, she said she had drilled too deep or something and we have to finish. Maybe the pulp was removed. I really don't know and a little confused.

I'd like to know if this was absolutely necessary and were there other options? I remember the first visit, she said she would drill and check. After drilling, she said it seems very deep and I probably needed the root canal.

Couldn't I have just taken the antibiotic and have the pain go away? She doesn't mention if the pulp or nerve is infected, is it not possible to see that when drilling? I'm sorry but this whole process is rather confusing and rather painful experience. I wanted some peace of mind, if it was avoidable or was it necessary.

Thank you for reading, sorry if it was a bit too long.

 

[Zuri Barniv]

An x-ray would be the only way anyone here could tell you if it was necessary or not. But assuming it was, once the dentist entered the canals of your teeth where the nerves are, then that cannot be remedied with antibiotics or anything else. Once a root canal is started, it needs to be finished or there would be long-term consequences.
Dr. Barniv

 

[Tragedy18]

An x-ray would be the only way anyone here could tell you if it was necessary or not. But assuming it was, once the dentist entered the canals of your teeth where the nerves are, then that cannot be remedied with antibiotics or anything else. Once a root canal is started, it needs to be finished or there would be long-term consequences.
Dr. Barniv

Thank you for replying. How could she do it without being certain, it seems like a root canal will have some long term consequences. She did two X-rays and couldn't tell if there was anything. There was a black spot that appeared but she said that could be due to the ash from the X-ray. What are other options she could have presented if she was uncertain? I didn't feel like I had any choice but to agree to a root canal but it always felt like "probably" have to do it rather than a "have to" from her explanations.

EDIT: I also read online that when you need a root canal, the antibiotics buys me a few weeks before it gets bad. I with the pain roughly 9 days ago, our next appointment is in 2 weeks. She's applied medication to kill the nerve because it was still very painful after numbing it 3 times. Isn't almost 4 weeks of leaving it incomplete, dangerous?

 

[Zuri Barniv]

Sometimes dentists make a diagnosis on the totality of the evidence and different dentists will differ on what evidence is required to justify a root canal. If she was uncertain, she could have waited to see how your symptoms played out, but you would then suffer in pain all that time. So it's not always cut and dry.

Yes, leaving a root canal unfinished could lead to an infection.

 

[Tragedy18]

Sometimes dentists make a diagnosis on the totality of the evidence and different dentists will differ on what evidence is required to justify a root canal. If she was uncertain, she could have waited to see how your symptoms played out, but you would then suffer in pain all that time. So it's not always cut and dry.

Yes, leaving a root canal unfinished could lead to an infection.

If she let it play out, would that be just giving me antibiotics and painkillers? If the pain stopped, what would that mean? This is my first time going to this dentist as well which is why I'm a little concern but the scaling and the filling work she did on me barely hurt compared to my last dentist so that's good.

 

[Neelsmith]

By some tests like xrays etc, you can get clear scene to root canal is necessary or not.