Had 2 root canals done about 10 days ago and have had nothing but pain since...while its gotten slightly better I did call the endo and he said to give it at least another week to "settle down". I originally had some infection/pain in one of the teeth from a deep cavity which was my reason for getting them done. While the specific teeth dont hurt as much I'm left with a general dull ache on the left side of my jaw and when I exercise/run/get heartrate up I still feel some throbbing in one of the teeth. Was wondering if anyone else has had similar results and how things turned out. Im currently on 2 weeks of antibiotics and fortunately the pain responds to 400 mg of motrin which I continue to take.

Thanks in advance...!

Had 2 root canals done about 10 days ago and have had nothing but pain since...while its gotten slightly better I did call the endo and he said to give it at least another week to "settle down". I originally had some infection/pain in one of the teeth from a deep cavity which was my reason for getting them done. While the specific teeth dont hurt as much I'm left with a general dull ache on the left side of my jaw and when I exercise/run/get heartrate up I still feel some throbbing in one of the teeth. Was wondering if anyone else has had similar results and how things turned out. Im currently on 2 weeks of antibiotics and fortunately the pain responds to 400 mg of motrin which I continue to take.

Thanks in advance...!

Perhaps you should seek the advice of an oral surgeon. Sometimes roots are not always cleaned correctly and/or there are some within the gum line - these can be reached by an Apicoectomy. I would talk to your endo again because the pain you are in sounds unusual. You should be feeling better by now. Please update us.
:wave:

[QUOTE=Robb]Had 2 root canals done about 10 days ago and have had nothing but pain since...while its gotten slightly better I did call the endo and he said to give it at least another week to "settle down"..............

I am having a similar problem.

I had my first root canal in July. The Endo opened the canals, which were infected and calcified, placed medication in them. I returned in 3 weeks. He removed the medication and filled the canals and placed a temp filling. All that sounds pretty normal, except that I never was without pain throughout the process. I was on antibiotics. I told him about the pain, but he insisted everything was OK. During the last procedure, he was talking to one of his assistants, who was standing in the door, another assistant was working with him. His voice inflection changed; I opened my eyes to see what was going on. While he had his left hand working in my mouth, he was holding the phone with his right hand, talking about some business deal. I made eye contact and frowned at him, the best I could do under the circumstances, and he only looked away. The conversation went on for about 2 min......a long time it seemed. He did not changed gloves, just put the phone down and proceeded to work on my root canal. He then had his assistant do the temporary filling, never even looking at it. He X-rayed the Root Canal and said it was fine, then went to lunch.

The next day, I went back to my regular dentist, who is new to me because we moved, and had him grind off a high spot, telling him what happened with the Endo and ask that he NOT refer this Endo to anyone else. My dentist said I could expect continued pain because of the amount of trauma to the tooth.

I had a temp crown placed on the tooth in Sept. - 2 1/2 mos. after the 1st Root Canal procedure. The tooth still ached. I got the same response from the dentist, pain was caused by trauma to the tooth and gum.

I had a permanent crown placed on the tooth 3 weeks after the temp. crown. Repeat of above statement. 6 weeks later, I had some swelling in my jaw and called the dentist. He had me come in, took an X-ray, ground off a tiny high spot on the crown. Said there was no infection and the pain was caused by trauma to the tooth and gum.

I cannot chew on that tooth, except for soft food. The tooth has a dull ache most of the time. I will NOT go back to the Endo. The dentist keeps giving me the same story. I've never had a root canal and have no idea what is supposed to happen, but anyone I've talked to says they did not have pain that lasted 5 months. My pain is actually worse now than before the root canal.

Has anyone had THIS experience and is it really just the trauma to the tooth and gum that would last this long and cause continuing pain?

I feel your pain, and I really do mean, I feel your pain. I went to my Dentist 2 years ago for a crown on a back top molar. After the preparation for the crown, I was in extreme pain and had constant throbbing in the tooth. I went on like that for months. Finally, my Dentist decided he would do a root canal on the tooth, since he thought that maybe the nerve had been somehow damaged when he did the crown prep. More pain after the root canal. I was back in that office at least twice a week for the next year. He even re did the root canal and still that did not help. Now, we get to the really great part. He decides that he needs to pull the tooth, clean out all the canals while it is out of my mouth and then implant it back in the socket. OK, I went along with this since my only other option was to lose the tooth. I had consulted a couple of Endo's and they could not find any reason for my pain, they said my Dentist had done an excellent job on the root canal.
So, the tooth gets pulled, my Dentist finds an absess on it, he cleans it, and he puts it back in the socket. Extreme pain for a few days. But then, slowly, it begins to get better. So, a few months later I go back to have it re crowned. Now I am in pain again. There is no feeling at all in that tooth if I touch it, you could bang on it as hard as you could and I would not feel it at all. But WHY DO I STILL HAVE PAIN?? I have been back to my Dentist again and also back to the Endo. They tell me there is nothing wrong. I have some throbbing in that area and the tooth in front of it when I do any type of activity, and the pain is almost always there but I can't tell where it is coming from. There is nothing wrong with the teeth in front of or behind that tooth. I am living on Tylenol and Advil. I don't want to have this tooth pulled if I don't need to. I don't know what to do next. It has now been 2 years since this whole thing started.

I've had 3 teeth done and all but 1 took months for the pain to subside. I too used Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, etc.). The longest mine took to completely heal was about 5-6 months. They did get progressively better over that period of time. Hang in there!

Hi there. Unfortunately, I have had several root canals done, that caused me lots of pain afterwards. One of them I eventually had to pull. I had that tooth root canalled; retreated...altogether it was opened up twice; then I had an apio done. The Endondtist thought he saw what the problem was, when I had the apio....he even sent a specimine in to have it examined (to see if it was malignant). The re-treat found a new canal missed the first time. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to stop the pain; and eventually I got fed up and had the tooth pulled. One tooth I'm dealing with now has hurt for almost a year and a half after the root canal done on it. Every dentist I go to says the tooth looks "good" on x-ray. Several months ago I had the tooth next to it root canalled (the pulp in that tooth was mushy: it was a dead tooth); but the tooth never stopped bothering me. Now, it has gotten more "liveable". It has periods when it "acts up", periods when it feels better. I am afraid to mess with any more teeth, if I can help it! Another couple of root canalled teeth bothered me for varying lengths of time....months. I keep hearing that people think root canals should stop hurting after a few days. I wish I had their luck! I just am not lucky like that, I guess. Worse thing is; no one could ever tell me WHY this kept happening to me. I hope you all get relief from the pain. God bless you! Debbie

Hi there. Unfortunately, I have had several root canals done, that caused me lots of pain afterwards. One of them I eventually had to pull. I had that tooth root canalled; retreated...altogether it was opened up twice; then I had an apio done. The Endondtist thought he saw what the problem was, when I had the apio....he even sent a specimine in to have it examined (to see if it was malignant). The re-treat found a new canal missed the first time. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to stop the pain; and eventually I got fed up and had the tooth pulled. One tooth I'm dealing with now has hurt for almost a year and a half after the root canal done on it. Every dentist I go to says the tooth looks "good" on x-ray. Several months ago I had the tooth next to it root canalled (the pulp in that tooth was mushy: it was a dead tooth); but the tooth never stopped bothering me. Now, it has gotten more "liveable". It has periods when it "acts up", periods when it feels better. I am afraid to mess with any more teeth, if I can help it! Another couple of root canalled teeth bothered me for varying lengths of time....months. I keep hearing that people think root canals should stop hurting after a few days. I wish I had their luck! I just am not lucky like that, I guess. Worse thing is; no one could ever tell me WHY this kept happening to me. I hope you all get relief from the pain. God bless you! Debbie
I mistakenly said the tooth I had pulled was opened up twice. It was actually opened up 4 times; then I had the apio done on it...Debbie

Update....

While my pain now after 2 weeks has gotten somewhat better (finally off meds but still aches at times) I followed up with the endo today and got some potentially bothersome news which may explain some trouble for others who have had pain for quite some time after their initial root canals. I had alot of pain and some swelling along the gumline and once that reduced there remained a small raised area....turns out the endo said he pushed too much material through the root and it went into and below my gumline causing the raised area. He referred me to an oral surgeon for a 2nd opinion and possible removal of the materials from my gumline. The endo did say that this was not too unusual and the materials often absorb on their own. I'm wondering if this is part of the reason for many painful root canals in general...that often material/infection can get pushed down below the tooth into the surrounding bone/gums often unseen creating a source of potential trouble longer term resulting in chronic pain...the need for apio's...extractions, etc.

If I end up having significant longer term pain in one of the two teeth I just had done I think extraction will be the next step. Fortunately the two teeth only seem to bother me now when I'm exercising heavily...playing basketball, etc. Hopefully this will trend towards improvement with the passage of time God willing...

Best to All...Robb

Robb - I'm glad you at least have some kind of an explaination for what is going on. I hope the situation can resolve itself.

Deb47 - I'm like you, I've had problems with every root canal I've had done. Had them all opened and closed back up several times, back to the Dentist over and over only for them to tell me they can't find anything wrong. I ended up having one root canalled tooth pulled also. The others I just lived with until the pain went away. Some took at least a year to heal completely. I think there are some of us that just weren't meant to have root canals. I have an appointment with another Endo tomorrow to see if he can give me an answer as to why the whole right side of my mouth hurts on the top. This pain is starting to grate on my nerves.

Good luck to everyone out there dealing with a similar situation.

Robb - I'm glad you at least have some kind of an explaination for what is going on. I hope the situation can resolve itself.

Deb47 - I'm like you, I've had problems with every root canal I've had done. Had them all opened and closed back up several times, back to the Dentist over and over only for them to tell me they can't find anything wrong. I ended up having one root canalled tooth pulled also. The others I just lived with until the pain went away. Some took at least a year to heal completely. I think there are some of us that just weren't meant to have root canals. I have an appointment with another Endo tomorrow to see if he can give me an answer as to why the whole right side of my mouth hurts on the top. This pain is starting to grate on my nerves.

Good luck to everyone out there dealing with a similar situation.

Hi, DizzyDreamer. I'm sorry you have had similar problems as I have; but I'm glad I'm not alone in this! Most everyone cannot understand this. I hear things from people like, "that isn't normal!". Well, duh! I also believe that root canals aren't for all people. Good luck in getting some answers to your dental problems. I never seem to get an answer from dentists...I can't believe they never run into patients like us. The tooth I eventually pulled had all kinds of problems that the dentists could see; like a missed canal; and then one canal at least was over-filled. the filling was leaking out inside the tooth. But even when they would fix these problems, the tooth still hurt. I have come to think its preferable to try and live with some discomfort; as long as it isn't too bad. Boy, you hit it on the head, when you said how the pain grates on your nerves. It's eerie...it's EXACTLY how I have felt so often; for such long periods. I start fretting; getting upset/nervous. Then I start getting obcessed with getting in to see my Endondtist again...each day I count off: "is the tooth better today?". If I start having a small period when the tooth will feel more tolerable, I'll call the Endondtist and re-schedule for 2-3 weeks down the road. Having that appointment is like a safety net to me. I have done this countless times...it probably drives my Endondtist crazy. If I actually could know I could go and get relief from my problems, I'd go in a heart beat. I just lost my faith in doctors being able to treat what ever is wrong with my teeth. Thanks for writing....so, there's at least two of us out there....Deb

I've had 3 teeth done and all but 1 took months for the pain to subside. I too used Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, etc.). The longest mine took to completely heal was about 5-6 months. They did get progressively better over that period of time. Hang in there!


I hope this is what is going on with me. However, I'm concerned about some of the things I've read about continuing infections with root canals. The tooth is sore even when I push on it with my tongue. I think I'm going to try to get a 2nd opinion from another dentist. I don't want to lose the tooth. It is the back right tooth and I already have a bridge on that side. I had missing teeth (congentially) on both sides and had to have bridges. My only other option would be partial dentures, or implant. So, I'd really like to hang onto this tooth.

I've decided to file a grievance with my insurance company about the Endodontist and the unprofessional way I was treated. They said I should be able to receive a refund from the Endo if the findings are in my favor. I found out yesterday this Endo has a prior repremand from the State Board. I am in the process of finding out what THAT is about.

Enter your dentist's name and city. When the name comes up, click on the name. That will take you to another page which will tell you if that dentist has had any disiplinary actions taken. You can write for details. Wish I would have done that before seeing the Endo. I used.

[Per Healthboards guidelines "do not post any off-board contact information". Edited to remove a website that includes this type of information.]

I can't believe I'm not the only one with Root Canal problems!!! Not that I'd wish this on anyone.

I have NEVER had pain after a root canal except for this one I'll talk about below. I've had 7 of them, so I think I'm close to an expert (LOL) If you are still having pain after all this time, you might want to consider having the tooth pulled. Infections in your mouth can go straight to your heart and that is something you just don't want to mess with. Plus, living in pain is not really living at all.

I'm actually having a lawsuit filed today over a root canal that was done 2 years ago today. The dentist never took and x-ray during the procedure. The tooth was a 3 root molar and he finished in less than 45 minutes! When I asked him if he should take x-rays, he said "I don't need to. I know what I'm doing" Well 6 months later I was still having problems. I called it my squishy tooth because if I bit down, it felt as if it was squishing into the gum and jawbone and if I walked fast (I don't exercise) it would hurt. I kept going back to him and he never took x-rays, just pushed around on the tooth and said, "It's like having your arm cut off, you just have phantom pains and they will go away."

I finally went to another dentist and he found that 2 files had broken off in one of the roots, half of the root was left in and I had an infection that went for half of my lower jaw! This guy was astounded! After a month of antibiotics, he tried to correct it to no avail and I finally had him pull the tooth and do a bridge. Since the pulling of that tooth, no more pain, squish feelings and I hardly ever get sick anymore!

Now my lawyer says that the 1st dentists malpractice carrier has sent the dentist a letter to sign off on a payout, but the guy refuses to admit he did anything wrong!

I've done my research and I know that it is not malpractice to break a file off in a tooth, but it is malpractice when you don't tell the patient what happened and what needs to be done to try to correct it and send them to an endodontist.

Sorry to hear that so many people are having such awful RC problems :eek: . I just want to add some encouragement because I have had 3 in the last two years with absolutely no bad result. In fact I stopped on the way home and ate a tuna sandwich after one of them :D but the anesthetic had worn off and I was careful not to chew on that side. I did take Advil for a day or so. I went to the top endodontist in Baltimore MD, Dr Stanley Klein. He is not only the best but a wonderful, caring person. I was scared to death, mostly because I had heard bad thing about RC ruining your health but he was recommended to me by a holistic dentist who said it was better to keep my teeth than have them pulled out, Dr Klein uses BioCalex as well as the standard gutta percha.
anneh[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]

Just a FYI/UPDATE...

Doing much better after 2.5 weeks and virtually pain free....so give the root canals time as everyone is different and each procedure is individual.

Best to all...