[Multicoloured]

Hello!

I had to have a first molar extracted last year after it got infected and after 2 root canals failing. Finally a dentist saw that I had a fracture in the tooth and he told me directly it couldn't be saved. I basically threw away all this root canal money.

Now I feel some discomfort in the other side, also the first molar, and I saw today that I have a vertical crack on the inside of the tooth which seems to go down to where the gum starts. I have no fillings there, so the crack is not very dark, but I can see it is there. It hurts a bit sometimes when chewing, but mostly it feels just "weird", like if I had something stuck between gum and tooth.
I was at a routine control last week and the dentist didn't comment on this at all. She also took a panoramic x ray and everything "was fine".

I'm extremely scared of this tooth going the same way as the old one, and I can't afford to miss two first molars! It'll be very hard to chew.... (I have no money to replace the molar I lost now)
Also, I'm only 30 and have an overall good mouth health, I don't want to miss 2 teeth!

I should mention I grind my teeth and bite my cheeks heavily in my sleep a lot due to lots of stress, and I'm considering a protective mouth guard.

I don't know what to do, why did my dentist not mention this crack? I mean, if I can see it she must have been able to as well! I want to trust that everything is fine as she says but this crack is freaking me out. Should I get it checked by some specialist instead? Which kind of specialist?
I'm by now developing dental anxiety and dentist phobia, feel very lost and scared.

So what should I do?

Massive thank you to anyone who might have knowledge about this !!

[Bryanna]

Hi Multicolored,

I am glad to hear that you decided to have that infected molar removed. That was a very wise decision. Unfortunately you paid a lot of money for a procedure that had no chance of making your tooth healthy again. I'm sorry your dentist did not inform you of that prior to doing the first or second root canal.

Regarding the other first molar...
Your description sounds like it could be fractured through the enamel. Your dentist should have noticed something during her examination but if you did not bring it up to her at that time that it was bothering you, then she may have thought it was a crazing line rather than an fracture. The panoramic x-ray will not show this type of fracture. You would need two other x-rays. One is called a periapical and the other is called a bite wing. These show a close up view of the tooth and at a different angle than the panoramic x-ray.

Sometimes fractures are hard to see on any x-ray but it would be wise to have them done. Once the dentist hears your symptoms she can also do a special stick biting test that can sometimes determine a fracture. She may also decide to adjust the occlusion (bite) on this tooth so you are not hitting into it to hard.

If you are tooth grinder when you sleep, then my all means have your dentist make you a night guard. Grinding your teeth can cause all sorts of problems with your teeth, gums and jaw bone.

I would suggest that you schedule another exam with your dentist asap to get the tooth checked and get that night guard made.

I hope this information was helpful to you.
Bryanna

Originally Posted by Multicoloured

Hello!

I had to have a first molar extracted last year after it got infected and after 2 root canals failing. Finally a dentist saw that I had a fracture in the tooth and he told me directly it couldn't be saved. I basically threw away all this root canal money.

Now I feel some discomfort in the other side, also the first molar, and I saw today that I have a vertical crack on the inside of the tooth which seems to go down to where the gum starts. I have no fillings there, so the crack is not very dark, but I can see it is there. It hurts a bit sometimes when chewing, but mostly it feels just "weird", like if I had something stuck between gum and tooth.
I was at a routine control last week and the dentist didn't comment on this at all. She also took a panoramic x ray and everything "was fine".

I'm extremely scared of this tooth going the same way as the old one, and I can't afford to miss two first molars! It'll be very hard to chew.... (I have no money to replace the molar I lost now)
Also, I'm only 30 and have an overall good mouth health, I don't want to miss 2 teeth!

I should mention I grind my teeth and bite my cheeks heavily in my sleep a lot due to lots of stress, and I'm considering a protective mouth guard.

I don't know what to do, why did my dentist not mention this crack? I mean, if I can see it she must have been able to as well! I want to trust that everything is fine as she says but this crack is freaking me out. Should I get it checked by some specialist instead? Which kind of specialist?
I'm by now developing dental anxiety and dentist phobia, feel very lost and scared.

So what should I do?

Massive thank you to anyone who might have knowledge about this !!

[Multicoloured]

Originally Posted by Bryanna

Hi Multicolored,

I am glad to hear that you decided to have that infected molar removed. That was a very wise decision. Unfortunately you paid a lot of money for a procedure that had no chance of making your tooth healthy again. I'm sorry your dentist did not inform you of that prior to doing the first or second root canal.

Regarding the other first molar...
Your description sounds like it could be fractured through the enamel. Your dentist should have noticed something during her examination but if you did not bring it up to her at that time that it was bothering you, then she may have thought it was a crazing line rather than an fracture. The panoramic x-ray will not show this type of fracture. You would need two other x-rays. One is called a periapical and the other is called a bite wing. These show a close up view of the tooth and at a different angle than the panoramic x-ray.

Sometimes fractures are hard to see on any x-ray but it would be wise to have them done. Once the dentist hears your symptoms she can also do a special stick biting test that can sometimes determine a fracture. She may also decide to adjust the occlusion (bite) on this tooth so you are not hitting into it to hard.

If you are tooth grinder when you sleep, then my all means have your dentist make you a night guard. Grinding your teeth can cause all sorts of problems with your teeth, gums and jaw bone.

I would suggest that you schedule another exam with your dentist asap to get the tooth checked and get that night guard made.

I hope this information was helpful to you.
Bryanna

Hello Bryanna,

Thanks so much for the information. I will try to get it checked in the nearest days. In the meantime, should I avoid chewing with this side? It's hard actually, as the other side has a big gap. Is it enough to avoid hard foods?

I will most definietly do this mouth guard. I have been grinding for a loooong while, I don't know why I never saw it as the problem it is

Again, thank you. I'll post again when I have more news.

[Bryanna]

Hi Multicolored,

Definitely avoid hard and chewy things on that side of your mouth.

Please keep us posted...
Bryanna

Originally Posted by Multicoloured

Hello Bryanna,

Thanks so much for the information. I will try to get it checked in the nearest days. In the meantime, should I avoid chewing with this side? It's hard actually, as the other side has a big gap. Is it enough to avoid hard foods?

I will most definietly do this mouth guard. I have been grinding for a loooong while, I don't know why I never saw it as the problem it is

Again, thank you. I'll post again when I have more news.

[Multicoloured]

Originally Posted by Bryanna

Hi Multicolored,

Definitely avoid hard and chewy things on that side of your mouth.

Please keep us posted...
Bryanna

Hi!

So I went to a new dentist. My "old" one I actually just saw for a check up and she seemed like a beginner somehow (very very young). So I went to bigger clinic where they do all kinds of difficult things, like bone restoration, implants, urgent accidents, difficult root canals etc.
I'll describe in detail what happened.

The man who saw me checked the tooth visually and said it looked more like a normal line. I asked if these lines go to the bottom of the tooth as this one and he said sometimes they do..
He then checked with an instrument to see if some part of the tooth moved, or if the instrument got stuck and, well, the instrument got a bit stuck but not like it got trapped or went in the crack. He checked the sensitivity of the tooth and it was quite fine, he also blew air on it on all its sides and the gum was OK he said.
He then took an x ray from the side and it looked fine.
he called another woman, older dentist, who confirmed what he said.

All in all, they said that maybe there was a tiny tiny very small crack, but that a crown or restoration will only be unnecessarily intrusive. They said "it's not usually dangerous" if there is a tiny crack and that any work on this tooth is unnecessary at this point.
My sensitivity when eating sometimes and "weird feeling" he couldn't really explain though.

I'm scheduled for another visit in order to get the mouth guard, but with this crack or whatever, I don't seem to come any further....

Of course I'm worried that it hurts a bit sometimes and that I have read so much about how hard it is to diagnose cracks (and he didn't do so many of the test which are recommended to diagnose cracks), but what can I do?

I could go and get a second opinion, but then I've spent some money on this already so I rather don't....

That was what happened....all comments are welcome.

*it's a hard life in the world of dentistry*
*one feels so lost*

[Multicoloured]

Originally Posted by Multicoloured

Hi!

So I went to a new dentist. My "old" one I actually just saw for a check up and she seemed like a beginner somehow (very very young). So I went to bigger clinic where they do all kinds of difficult things, like bone restoration, implants, urgent accidents, difficult root canals etc.
I'll describe in detail what happened.

The man who saw me checked the tooth visually and said it looked more like a normal line. I asked if these lines go to the bottom of the tooth as this one and he said sometimes they do..
He then checked with an instrument to see if some part of the tooth moved, or if the instrument got stuck and, well, the instrument got a bit stuck but not like it got trapped or went in the crack. He checked the sensitivity of the tooth and it was quite fine, he also blew air on it on all its sides and the gum was OK he said.
He then took an x ray from the side and it looked fine.
he called another woman, older dentist, who confirmed what he said.

All in all, they said that maybe there was a tiny tiny very small crack, but that a crown or restoration will only be unnecessarily intrusive. They said "it's not usually dangerous" if there is a tiny crack and that any work on this tooth is unnecessary at this point.
My sensitivity when eating sometimes and "weird feeling" he couldn't really explain though.

I'm scheduled for another visit in order to get the mouth guard, but with this crack or whatever, I don't seem to come any further....

Of course I'm worried that it hurts a bit sometimes and that I have read so much about how hard it is to diagnose cracks (and he didn't do so many of the test which are recommended to diagnose cracks), but what can I do?

I could go and get a second opinion, but then I've spent some money on this already so I rather don't....

That was what happened....all comments are welcome.

*it's a hard life in the world of dentistry*
*one feels so lost*

I want to add that when I now try to push my tooth with my tongue, I feel a painless movement somehow....like something getting out of place an back. BUt surely such a feeling should be seen as a crack in the X ray?
It's hard to feel something weird and then being told that it's nothing..

[Bryanna]

Multicolored,

It sounds like the dentist did a fairly comprehensive evaluation of your tooth. The crack line could be very shallow at this point. Whether or not it gets deeper, no one can determine that at this time. The mouth is very sensitive to the slightest abnormality and that is what you could be picking up on.

I would say to be mindful of that tooth when you are eating. Think of it as if there was a bruise there and you want to let it heal. Sometimes we tend to get preoccupied with something that feels odd and need to back of of it for a bit. I'm not dismissing that you have a crack there or that there could be something going on. But at this stage, nothing significant is being picked up so there is not much you can do but to deliberately protect it and see what happens.

Yes, get the mouth guard asap because your clenching/grinding habit will make this situation worsen. So that is important to get done.

I also want to caution you about going to a "clinic" type dental office where there are various specialties going on. This may seem like an advantageous idea to become a patient of, however, these clinics are "generally" owned by a director (could be a doctor or dentist) who is motivated by production numbers and each dentist is an employee and is expected to meet a certain weekly or monthly quota. I know that sounds kind of awful when you think of it as health care.... but unfortunately healthcare is a big $$$ industry and we must not assume the business is run any differently than any other business.

Another word of caution.... there is no such thing as a a dentist who is an expert in difficult root canals. That is a marketing tactic. Endodontists are dentists who perform root canals as their specialty, just like oral surgeons perform oral surgery as their specialty. Each specialist has the benefit of having more practice or experience in their special areas. However, unlike oral surgery, a root canal procedure is basically done the same irrelevant of who does it... the "specialist" may be able to do it faster for various reasons, but the end result of any root canal procedure is the ultimately the same in that there are no means of making an unhealthy tooth, healthy again.

It is important that you go to whom ever you are most comfortable. Just be mindful of what is being expected of you to do before you give the go ahead.

Bryanna

Originally Posted by Multicoloured

I want to add that when I now try to push my tooth with my tongue, I feel a painless movement somehow....like something getting out of place an back. BUt surely such a feeling should be seen as a crack in the X ray?
It's hard to feel something weird and then being told that it's nothing..

[Multicoloured]

Originally Posted by Bryanna

Multicolored,

It sounds like the dentist did a fairly comprehensive evaluation of your tooth. The crack line could be very shallow at this point. Whether or not it gets deeper, no one can determine that at this time. The mouth is very sensitive to the slightest abnormality and that is what you could be picking up on.

I would say to be mindful of that tooth when you are eating. Think of it as if there was a bruise there and you want to let it heal. Sometimes we tend to get preoccupied with something that feels odd and need to back of of it for a bit. I'm not dismissing that you have a crack there or that there could be something going on. But at this stage, nothing significant is being picked up so there is not much you can do but to deliberately protect it and see what happens.

Yes, get the mouth guard asap because your clenching/grinding habit will make this situation worsen. So that is important to get done.

I also want to caution you about going to a "clinic" type dental office where there are various specialties going on. This may seem like an advantageous idea to become a patient of, however, these clinics are "generally" owned by a director (could be a doctor or dentist) who is motivated by production numbers and each dentist is an employee and is expected to meet a certain weekly or monthly quota. I know that sounds kind of awful when you think of it as health care.... but unfortunately healthcare is a big $$$ industry and we must not assume the business is run any differently than any other business.

Another word of caution.... there is no such thing as a a dentist who is an expert in difficult root canals. That is a marketing tactic. Endodontists are dentists who perform root canals as their specialty, just like oral surgeons perform oral surgery as their specialty. Each specialist has the benefit of having more practice or experience in their special areas. However, unlike oral surgery, a root canal procedure is basically done the same irrelevant of who does it... the "specialist" may be able to do it faster for various reasons, but the end result of any root canal procedure is the ultimately the same in that there are no means of making an unhealthy tooth, healthy again.

It is important that you go to whom ever you are most comfortable. Just be mindful of what is being expected of you to do before you give the go ahead.

Bryanna

Hi Bryanna, thanks for your reply!
Yes, I guess there is nothing else I can do at this point. I will try to protect it when I remember, but it's hard as this is my main chewing side due to the gap on the other side. It bothers me quite a lot with this movement and sudden pain when chewing sometimes, but I'll have to wait and see.

In any case I'm scheduled for more visits for the mouth guard, so I will mention that the problem is still there.

I'm aware of the situation regarding health care. For me it's a bit different, as I live in Poland and I pay privately in any case and the prices are somewhat affordable. The issue is finding English speaking ones and knowing if they are good. I think they are usually OK, or at least not worse than in other countries.

Happy holidays