Do I Need a Root Canal?
Dr. Hall
I live in Chicago , IL.
I have had a sensitive tooth due to brushing too hard on one of my molars for
some time now. I had asked my dentist if she could bond it instead of
painting this temporary mustard yellow desensitive stuff on every 6
months. She said yes and did, well after the procedure my sensitivity was
100 times more sensitive.
She suggests
root canal treatment. What do you think?
Do I need a root canal?
Nina in Chicago
Dear Nina,
I'm not surprised that after being sensitive for as long as it has that
your tooth needs a root canal procedure.
The tooth has probably been infected for some time. When your dentist
finally sealed over the exposed tubules, that would cause the pressure to
build up inside the tooth with no outlet, and make it much more sensitive.
I don't think your dentist did anything wrong at all - I'd have the root
canal, if it's as sensitive as you're saying. It will only progress to a full-blown
toothache. I'd get it done before it gets to that point.
When a tooth is sensitive over a long period of time, it's always a high
risk for developing irreversible pulpitis. Then anytime you do anything to
that tooth - fill or or anything - it aggravates the sensitivity even more
until it finally needs a root canal treatment.
I hope this is helpful.
Yours,
Dr. David Hall
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