Crown (teeth, gums, hurts, pain)

[KH02]

I just had a root canal on Tuesday and then today had the post and a permanant filling put into the tooth. Everything has gone well so far.
My dentist said usually you come back about 6 months after the root canal to have your crown made and a temporary put on.
However, my tooth has a crack in it which makes it more at risk of breaking then a normal tooth thats had a root canal.
So, I ask him when I should come back and he didn't give me a definitive answer just said earlier then 6 months.

In your opinions or experience when should I make my appt for the temporary crown to be put on and the permanant crown to be ordered ???

My gut tells me perhaps do it in a month or so, until then I will chew only on the other side of my mouth. I don't want the tooth to crack and then have all I've been through have been for nothing.

Also, What does the appointment when they place the temporary crown entail? They said they would slightly numb just my gums. Is this a painful appointment or is the worst behind me?

[AnonChick]

I'm surprised they didn't fit you for a crown during the root canal. That's usually when it's done, and the temporary comes in usually within a few weeks.

Basically what they do with a crown, is numb your gums with novocaine injection, and pare the tooth down smaller and at certain angles so it will become an anchor for the crown. They do this with something that looks like a little miniature sander. It doesn't hurt at all. The injection hurts like a sommabeech but you already have experienced that, so you know what to expect

Then they put this thing with some gooky stuff in it over the teeth, and it makes an impression into the stuff. This is the reverse mold for the people who make the crowns, to know exactly what that crown will have to fit on. They will make a mold using the impression, then make the crown to fit -exactly- onto that tooth, using the mold.

Then it's made, it gets sent to the dentist, he slaps some special epoxy in it, isolates your tooth with cotton and dries it with a burst of air, and pops the cap (crown) onto the shaven tooth.

You wear that for awhile, to ensure that it's perfect. If it isn't, adjustments get made, and a new impression is done as well. Once everyone's happy with the fit, they tell the manufacturer to go ahead and make a permanent one. They do. You get it. Usually -within- six months of your root canal. Not "in" six months.

Temp can happen within days, and usually within the first month. Depends on how busy the prosthesis maker is and how far he is from the dentist. My dentist got his from halfway across the state, so he couldn't just send some kid to pick it up. My grandfather used to use a guy three blocks away, so he'd usually pick them up himself when he closed the office for lunch (my grandfather was a dentist).

It's not all that complicated, they just want to make sure everything is fitting perfectly before they use a long-term epoxy to glue a foreign object to your mouth. That's why they give you a temp. And - the best thing about a temp, is that if it doesn't get loose, it can last quite awhile before it needs to be replaced. Front tooth temporary caps aren't made to look all that great, but in the back, who cares what it looks like. No one's gonna be investigating your molars

[KH02]

So after they shave the tooth down to a little core and make the impression a temporary will be fit at that appointment??? Or do you go home with a little tiny stump of a tooth??

Guess I'll call and make the appointment for sometime in May.

[AnonChick]

I've only had one done and it was a long time ago...but if I remember right, you go home stumpy. You have to be stumpy at one point or another, because they have to actually make the temp to fit your mouth. There's no such thing as one size fits all, or small/medium/large.

Maybe they have some kind of rubber do-hickie they put on the stump so you don't have to worry about sensitivity to cold/heat? I honestly can't remember - you'd need to ask a dentist. Judging by your experience with your current dentist, I'd recommend asking the hygienist instead. They're usually a whole lot better at explaining things to patients

[Beth56]

I've had 2 root canals and within a week had a temporary crown that my dentist made in the office. A couple weeks later the permanent crown was placed.

[AnonChick]

Originally Posted by Beth56

I've had 2 root canals and within a week had a temporary crown that my dentist made in the office. A couple weeks later the permanent crown was placed.

Wasn't sure about the temporary. Root canals on molars don't always need crowns though. It isn't generally planned for or a given. And the OP says his tooth cracked which meant he'd need one. That wouldn't have been something they'd plan for either.

Edited to add - but yes I think you're right, and my memory was faulty. The temp crown - if it's known that it'd be needed, would be made the same day by the dentist.

That would mean also..that if the dentist thinks that it will need a crown, but doesn't feel that until after the root canal, he might leave the tooth as is - with just the post and filling where the root canal was, and no re-shaping the tooth, til the next visit when he will do the shaping, new impression, and temp crown then.

[texdav]

I have had several root canals and crowns. My dnetist always makes the tempary by computer program the sceond visit when they put the permanent filling. The the permanent they make with two weks .lI really hate the old days when they had to order the crown and it took longer. Now days if the temp is right then the crown is eact same but of course stronger. I have one tooth that broke off in accident at gum line. Dentist did root canal;put post in ;builtup around the post then crowned.

[as7241]

I had a root canal a year ago and because i had braces, my dentist told me to come back after they were removed. now they have been removed and i have no pain my that tooth (back molar) but the build up has worn down and now the center of my rootless tooth is exposed. is this going to cause issues? ive been putting off the crown bc its over 1,000 dollars.

[AnonChick]

Not sure what you mean about the build up being worn down. What build up? If you mean the enamel that is the natural protection of the tooth, then yeah you're gonna need that covered asap. If you mean there was calcalus building, as in, plaque, and the plaque has worn off, and now it's just the natural tooth with the enamel, then that's a good thing, not a bad thing. If you mean the filling over the post they put in there to cover the root canal work has worn off, then you need that taken care of asap.

Leaving a tooth with no enamel, can, and often does, cause decay and infection and even bone loss down the road. And that is a whole lot more expensive than the $1000 you need to fork over for a crown.