Thursday, March 11, 2010

Might loose tooth now...sue?

SO I went to the dentist about5-6 months ago, maybe even more, regarding a recently crowned tooth. I was having issues with chewing on that side of my mouth because it was a little sensitive. They took an xray, and did not see anything wrong with the tooth, and sent me off.





2months ago, I woke up in the middle of the night having HUGE jaw pain. So much so, that I was popping pain pills like candy, and I needed to call my medical doctor to prescribe me some medication to help with the pain and inflammation. I then made an appt. with my dentist. They determined that I had a TMJ episode and that I clenched my teeth at night so hard it caused the mass amount of pain I had. They fitted me for a night guard ($400) and sent me off. Never took ANY xrays.





Question continued here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Might loose tooth now...sue?
Well they are not supposed to give you x-rays more then once a year, ehich is why they always ask when the last time you had one done was (unless you go to the same and they already know). They could prokbably tell if there was a problem with the toooth simply by looking at it. You can't sue over that, but you could go to another dentist for a second opinion.
Reply:Ok, you have a few things going on now. When a root canal is done they remove the nerve due to a issue with your tooth (could be the result of anything). Removing any part of your tooth will diminish the strength of it. If there is any other problem (bone loss, pockets, etc.) that will also contribute to its strength. Removing part of the tooth to adapt a crown will also make it lose its support.


A root canal is done to support a tooth instead of an immediate extraction, always better to try than instantly removing it. You were told it may be only 50%. Many times a root canal will last decades and sometimes it will fail or become reabscessed again.


I'm guessing the grinding has been going on for a while, it doesn't just happen overnight. Often people have no clue that it is happening while they sleep until wear or mobility is noticed on their teeth. Now add a crown onto a tooth that is weakened with a grinding issue and it can aggravate the whole situation. You cannot see a tmj/grinding problem on a xray unless it has something to do with the alignment of your jaw. Even then the xray will only show the deformity not the wear or mobility. Also only part of the diagnosis for a tooth needing a root canal is using a xray, there are other tools Endos will use.


A guard along with a bite adjustment (done by a specialist-Periodontist) is the best solution to help support grinding. Your enamel on your teeth will eventually will ground down and bone loss will occur which will make your teeth become mobile.


What happened in your situation is quite common and I see it often at our office.



konsole-devel

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