[DOCTOR 3VIL]

Wow so man questions all at once. Ok, here I go.

Originally Posted by Martl1405

Hi I have a question about referred pain after a root canal. Long story short, I had a root canal done last week after my dentist hit a nerve during a minor filling a month before. The nerve got really inflamed and just kept getting worse. After two adjustments and antibiotics I was referred to an endodontist who tested the tooth nd confirmed I needed a root canal bc the nerve was dying. Now before the root canal I had a lot of referred pain, especially in all of my bottom front teeth, and of course extreme sensitivity in the actual tooth which was my bottom right molar. So now it's a week after the root canal and the sensitivity is gone and the tooth is fine but the referred pain is still there on my front bottom teeth. My endo. says this is normal being that the nerve was so inflamed and so were my other teeth. He says they just need time to heal. I just want to make sure this is normal? I was put on med dose pack to help with inflammation and I felt like it was up until around day 4 when the doses started tapering off. Ay advice would be welcomed. It's just frustrating to be in so much pain after having just a minor filling. I never had a cavity before and the tooth was not badly decayed or infected. Should I be waiting this out more and worried for no reason? Thank you!

It is true. Sometimes the pain from a toothache can take a few weeks to calm down. The bone around the root gets inflammed from the work and takes time to calm down. If there is a nerve bundle around the root then it'll also get irritated from the inflammation and you could have referred pain for several days to weeks. If the pain does not resolve within a month then I would go back to the Endodontist and have him check it again. BTW, root canals are not 100% effective like any dental or medical procedure. Some root canals fails.

Originally Posted by Brunotheboxer

My question is if you're making 300 K why are you on a BMW board and not a Porsche board or some other exotic.

From your question, I will assume that you are in your early 20's, single and no kids. And there is nothing wrong with that but when you get older with kids, your priorities are much different. It doesn't make any financial sense for me, at this point in my life, to have $100k+ invested in a car sitting in my garage and deprecating. It would make more sense to put that money towards my kids college education or pay off my loans, which is my next issue.
I got shitt load of loans. Going to a private university for 6 years isn't cheap. A major portion of my money goes to loans and my wife's school loan. Also, 40% of my income goes to uncle facking Sam, and then there is kids private tuition and so on. So, you see, driving a Ferrari, doesn't make any sense at this point. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to, but its not important at this point. I drive a Honda Civic to work, and have my tracked out E46 M3 to play around once a month. That's enough for me.

Originally Posted by keepittrill

Maybe he has those as well? Maybe his priorities are different than yours? Plenty of insanely wealthy people who drive average cars.

Exactly, and that's why they are wealthy because expensive cars are pointless. I am not one of those that will buy a trophy car and park it in my garage and drive it on the weekend at 60mph to a restaurant and back. Fack that. I like to use my sport cars for the purpose they are intended and that's going fast. So tracking a Ferrari or Lamborghini is financially stupid.

Originally Posted by pukicabuki

Are all dentists a-holes? I've never had a good dentist, maybe thats why I despise them. Nothing better than having a cavity only to have a dentiat poke it with a pointy object and ask if it hurts....no $hit buddy. Only to poke it again for their amusement.

'm joking about all dentists being a-holes. I know there are good ones out there.... its just that I haven't met one.

Sounds like you have had nothing but bad luck with dentist. We are not all douchbags like lawyers are not all ambulance chasers.

Originally Posted by Ehwnnc

I havent been to the dentist in years, i brush my teeth twice a day and they are white. If they start getting all jacked up ill just get fake ones.

I hope you never have any issues but it's still important to get a check up once a year.

Originally Posted by Angerman

If asked to turn up the nitrous to full blast do you usually do so? Wondering for my next visit to the dentist

We usually adjust the nitrous to the need of every patient. Everyone is a little different. Some people need for nitrous than others. The nice thing about nitrous is that the effects are quickly reversible so, yeah, if they ask for some more I'll crank it up but to a certain extent.

Originally Posted by NemesisX

seriously?

You're delusional if you think all or even most people who make > $300k/year drive porsches or $100k+ cars. The correlation between your car and your income is so tenuous as to be almost insignificant.

My dad makes anywhere from $400k-$600k/year (it varies, and on average it's probably on the lower end of that) and he drives a Honda Pilot (yep, I drive a car that's more expensive than his car and I'm a poor student with $0, although he purchased all of the cars in our household outright for my mom, my brother, and myself). If you're unconvinced by mere anecdotes (which is perfectly reasonable), there are plenty of statistics for the kinds of cars that multi-millionaires drive.

Interestingly the second most commonly driven car by pentamillionaires, for example, is the BMW 328i (the most common is the Mercedes E class). Honda, Toyota, and Ford all make the top 10. The BMW X5 is like 9th or 10th as well. Audi doesn't make the list. Porsche doesn't make the list.

I agree...not that I'm a millionaire of anything, but I think it's pointless to drive exotics just to show off to other people.

Originally Posted by Joekerr

Is it true that more dentists sexually assault their patients than your average doctor? Or is that just in the movies?


No, but I'm curious - isn't that a stereotype among dentists?

Just in the movies or is it

Originally Posted by MiddleAgedAl

Any insight into why it's so easy to find any number of studies suggesting that dentists have a much higher rate of suicide than most other highly educated, skilled professionals?

Despite the money and lower risk of a patient dying on you than a doctor, is it really all that bad?

I've heard of that too, but I don't know how true it really is.

Originally Posted by NemesisX

This article sheds some light on the issue -

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...t-suicide-rate

That article was garbage by the way.

Originally Posted by sasha1015

I had a root canal done once the pain didnt go away for legit a year... I went to another dentist he said my tooth had 5 roots... Only two were taken care of.. Also in one of them the original dentist broke and instrument so i have a piece of metal in my face...
Now my question is... Can i get an MRI? Are the instruments used non ferrous?

When the nerve tissue of the tooth gets infected then all the nerve canals get infected so it's important to find all the canals and clean them all. However the root canal system can get very complicated and in some cases very small and hidden away in one corner of the tooth that it's difficult to see. So yes, missing a canal will sometimes happen but it usually comes down to experience level of the dentist. Just like in any profession, there is good ones and bad ones. Files are also very delicate and can separate in the canal if not careful. They are made of nickel titanium and will cause no problems in case you need an MRI. The instrument itself is not a problem in your tooth. The problem is if you need to redo the root canal it sometimes impossible to remove the instrument or go around it to the end of the root. This can prevent healing.

Originally Posted by bbbbmw

So since you asked... I was having some pain in a molar. My dentist said it needed a crown, and did a CEREC crown. It still hurts... So is a root canal the next step? Do you drill through the crown itself, or just saw off my head?

Sounds like it'll need a root canal. At this point they'll just drill through the crown and then seal the hole with a white filling. Sometimes you'll need to re do the crown after drilling through it.

Originally Posted by 1NS0MN1A

i had a root canal on my front tooth, and now after about 5 years it is starting to turn blue, what do i do?

It might be re contaminated with bacteria. Go see an Endodontist and have them evaluate it. You might need to redo the root canal and then bleach the tooth from the inside.

Originally Posted by Nkc

How much poontang does this profession get? Do girls come in dressed all sexy with low cut and try to get on a date with you? A very legitimate question.

Once in a while I'll have hot women flirt with me but that's pretty much it. I'm happily married so nothing ever happens.

Originally Posted by Sara504

Is phantom pain normal. Its going on 9 years of the same pain. Every x ray comes up negative for cavity. Oral surgeon tried to convince me it was phantom pain like when a solider gets a leg blown off but still feels like he has a leg.

You can have pain even though it's not visible on the xray. Sometimes a tooth can be cracked and the crack is usually not picked up by the xray. The crack can harbor bacteria and cause chronic inflammation of the ligaments and bone around the root. It's not your imagination.

Originally Posted by 954Stealth

What is your experience with perio-operative tooth pain outside of 1 month?
How acute or persistent is the perioperative pain versus, say, a pulpotomy or a pulpectomy?

Can you elaborate on the term periopertive? I am not sure what you mean.

Originally Posted by BA335iS

Here's a quick timeline on my situation

1. Toothache, identified that cavity is "too large", so "root canal" needed.
2. Root canal procedure takes place in the next couple days
A. Painful process
B. Pain does not go away in couple days
C. Obtains prescription for amoxicillin and 5MG Hydrocodone / 500MG Acetaminophen
D. Still painful and report back to general dentist; referred to endodontist for improved accuracy in tooling
E. Endo Identifies "hidden" canal, consults, and executes honing process
F. Applies temporary filling, filling drops in couple days, reapplied temp filling and wait 2 weeks
G. Gets another root canal performed with "precision" xrays and "finer" tools with "exceptional" endo experience.
H. Breaks a tool in the process and is lodged in a canal
I. Process complete, still painful, but it appears to be "gum" related.
3. Goes back to general dentist
J. Xrays performed
K. Installs temporary cap and was told to come back in a week
L. Impression of tooth molded and was told to come back in a week
M. Remove temp cap, permanently installs impression, files to fit bite
N. Complained about pain in the next 3-5 days and was told it's normal
O. I've been dealing with "tolerable" pain for almost a year.


I haven't dare set foot to the dentist since, but I may have to this quarter. $2,700 later, double dental insurance coverage, I am almost ready to visit.

Any thoughts?

Like I mentioned before, root canals are not 100% effective. Sometimes there are hidden cracks in the tooth that aren't visible which can cause constant low grade inflammation. Also, it's impossible to remove all the nerve tissue, so sometimes a little remaining nerve tissue will cause the pain you've been having. Follow up with the Endodontist and see what he/she will recommend. You may need a surgery to get rid of the infection or just extract the tooth.

Originally Posted by GreasyGinzo

how accurate are apex locators? Do they have to be calibrated? If so how often?

Apex locators are kind of a hit and miss. I have one version that I paid $1000 and worked only for a few years and I recently bought one from ebay from China for $120 that works every freaking time perfectly. Go figure.

Originally Posted by 954Stealth

Does your wife like your electric drill or other motor tools?

too much? He did say "anything"

Originally Posted by RandomHero

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow actually. It's at tooth:hurty

Haha, good one

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

I went in for a cavity and the dentist told me i'll need a crown bc the cavity was too deep. He did the Crown buildup and put on a temporary while the new crown was being made.

This was 2 months ago. I havent been back bc I am a lazy bastard and I'm still rocking the temp. Will I need to get a root canal? Lol .

Hard to answer that question with little information but if the cavity is deep then you are better off doing the root canal before getting the crown cemented. Most people don't understand that if the root canal is done before infection sets in then the success of the root canal is higher. Also post operative pain is much less.