Does this mean I need a root canal?!
Question:
Does this mean I need a root canal?
I had a big filling put in my tooth about 9 months ago. No problems with it until a week ago when it started to hurt. I went to the dentist on Tuesday, he took out the filling and drilled away some more of the tooth, then he put a medicated filling in it and said I should come back in a week to see if I just needed another filling, or if I would need a root canal.
Since he did it, the pain isn't as bad, but it still aches pretty much all the time - I'm taking paracetamol and ibuprofen as often as allowed to help with the pain. How long would it take for the medicated filling to work? If it was going to work, would the pain be gone by now? Does the fact that I still have pain mean I'll need a root canal?
Answers:
The fact that you are still experiencing a constant pain indicates you may have what is called irreversible pulpitis. This means that the nerve inside of the tooth is inflamedand it will not go away on its own. The treatment unfortunately is root canal therapy. Once the root canal is completed you will feel a lot better.