Had root canal & crown a year ago, now it's (#19) really painful again (tooth, pulled)

[WoodyWW]

So I had a root canal a year ago on the #19 molar; now it's throbbing again. Part of the molar had cracked off--it was a tooth with a bunch of old fillings. It was infected, so I had to decide whether to have it pulled, or get a root canal & crown. I didn't think I could face having it pulled, so I went to a highly respected endo & had a root canal. The dentist I went to for the crown, when he saw the x-ray of the root canal, said it looked "textbook". This was a total of about $2800--(that's the going rate in this part of the country, for those who think those prices are nuts).

I called the endo today & they were closed, so I left a message. My guess is that the root canal will need to be redone. So I may be back to the same dilemma--a (2nd) root canal, (& I don't know what that costs yet), or have the tooth pulled (& then what)? I'm 69 & the endo is about 40 minutes away, & this is a real drag.....

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by WoodyWW

So I had a root canal a year ago on the #19 molar; now it's throbbing again. Part of the molar had cracked off--it was a tooth with a bunch of old fillings. It was infected, so I had to decide whether to have it pulled, or get a root canal & crown. I didn't think I could face having it pulled, so I went to a highly respected endo & had a root canal. The dentist I went to for the crown, when he saw the x-ray of the root canal, said it looked "textbook". This was a total of about $2800--(that's the going rate in this part of the country, for those who think those prices are nuts).

I called the endo today & they were closed, so I left a message. My guess is that the root canal will need to be redone. So I may be back to the same dilemma--a (2nd) root canal, (& I don't know what that costs yet), or have the tooth pulled (& then what)? I'm 69 & the endo is about 40 minutes away, & this is a real drag.....

If the tooth is pulled, that's the end of it. Did the root canal only address the nerve of one root? Molars can have up to four and a root can have more than one nerve. The endo who did your previous work would have to say whether another crown would even be possible. I haven't been in your position but I'd probably say enough's enough and pull it.

[rach5]

They might be able to go in through the top of the crown to re-do the root canal (unless there was a post)and then just do a filling in the crown.