We thank our advertisers who help fund this site.
Dr. Hall,
I have several crowns, some on natural teeth some on implants. I have two crowns next to each other on top and front. The crowns are maybe 20 or 25 years old. 1 week ago I saw my dentist for a cleaning and today I woke with constant strong pain but much worse when sipping coffee warmer than room temperature. My dentist isn’t in for a few days and the pain seems to be growing to include the crown on the tooth next to it. Any ideas?
– Randy from Illinois
Randy,
I’m sorry to have to be the one to give you the bad news, but the pulp of your tooth is dying and it is going to need a root canal.
You have two of the classic symptoms of a dying tooth. Teeth can be sensitive to a number of things, and that sensitivity can sometimes come and go and may not indicate a dying tooth. But if you have strong pain that isn’t provoked, that’s an indication of a dying tooth. Adding to it, your pain is aggravated by heat–a doubly bad sign.
What happens is that an infected pulp will draw in body defenses including white blood cells. The tissue wants to swell, but being in a confined space, it chokes itself and then dies. As it dies, it can sometimes give off gasses. Any warming up of the tooth increases the pressure of those gasses and increases the pain. Cold will cause the gasses to contract and will generally provide relief in this situation.
So what do you do when you have a crown on the tooth that needs a root canal? It isn’t difficult to make an opening in the crown and do the treatment through the crown. However, if I were your dentist, I would want to remove that crown and find out what is going on under it. I would also want to replace the 20-year-old crown on the adjacent tooth, because something similar may be happening to that tooth.
Why is this happening? There are several possibilities. One is that decay has gotten in under the crown. This can happen through a leaky margin that your dentist didn’t catch or maybe did see but didn’t attach enough significance to it. Another could be that the tooth has become irritated through exposed root surface.
– Dr. Hall
Do you have a comment or a question or anything else to add? We’d love to hear from you. Enter your comment below.
Click here to ask Dr. Hall a question of your own.
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
Leave a Reply