After spending $2000 on a root canal and crown (which still hasn't been cemented on since I am having ongoing problems) I am getting frustrated! No dental coverage so this has all been out of pocket.
I had a root canal on an abscessed tooth on 7/31. Since then the tooth has never settled down. I have had pain that comes and goes, sensitivity (inflamed periodontal ligament) and now my jaw aches. I have been back to the dentist and the endodontist several times. They will Xray the tooth, say it "looks fine" and look at me like I'm nuts. I don't think they truly believe I am in pain. The endodontist finally referred me to an oral surgeon who is seeing me today.
It is getting to the point where I am seriously considering extracting the tooth. I am tired of being in pain, of wondering if tomorrow is the day I will wake up with a fat face and another abscess. The pain I have now is not like what I had before the root canal. It is much more fleeting and mild, comes and goes, and seems to almost migrate around my jaw.
When I mentioned to the endodontist about getting the exraction, she acted like I was crazy for even considering it without exhausting all other avenues first. I have already decided I am unwilling to lay out $1000 for an apicoectomy, I don't hold out any hope for this tooth.
What should I do? Demand an extraction? Give it more time? Sink another $1000 and more pain and suffering into this stupid tooth?
I'm sorry to hear you are having problems after a root canal. I had the same thing happen to me with 2 teeth (about 1 year apart). I followed all the advice given to me and was told that I clench my teeth. I then bought a night guard in hopes that would help (after the 1st one). I was sent to an oral surgeon, who after six months referred me to another oral surgeon. I am finally getting some relief after being diagnosed with TMJ.
If your tooth is throbbing there could be infection, but if it is just achey it could be caused by your jaw.
I'm not sure if this will help but it is worth a try.
I've found that if I brush teeth that have been crowned recently they ache. I switched to a baby's toothbrush and...end of aching! The hard bristles
stir up the nerves. Never heard That from a dentist!
I told one the crown ached for months. He examined it and said, "it's fine." So I HAD to figure this out for myself ! Actually, he got ticked at me and tried to PULL THE CROWN OFF !!!
I can't get no respect. :-(
I can sympathize with you so much! I absolutely HATE it when the dentist/endodontist tells you "it looks good to me" or "i can't see anything wrong with it". I got tired of my husband telling me to just forget about my tooth pain, that it was "just a tooth, for cripes sake". I don't think anybody but yourself knows the pain you feel, and they have no right to treat you as if you are making your pain up.
I had a similar thing happen to me, but in a different order. First I had the root canal, which did ok for a year. Then it abscessed. So I dished out the $1000 for the apicoectomy. The thing still hurt! The endodontist didn't see anything wrong on the x-ray, but fortunately he believed me and offered to retreat the rootcanal for free. I figured if that didn't take care of it, or if the retreatment would have been out of my pocket, I was just going to pull the tooth.
Fortunately, the endo got in there and found parts of canals left untreated and not sealed. So he cleaned it out and resealed it. That has been over a month and so far so good.
If your abscess was down on the root, the root canal itself might have left abscess still down there. Does it feel warm, swollen, or anything like when you had the abscess? I would think it would take a lot longer to heal that way, because your body has to like reabsorb the abscess. The "good thing" about the apicoectomy is that is cuts out and removes all the infected tissue. But it is costly, takes longer to heal, and there still aren't any guarantees.
You pretty much have to decide on your own. The dentis has a duty to try and save teeth at all costs. You have to decide when and where to draw the line. The only thing I can tell you is that if it still hurts, something isn't right. If you want to try insisting that they retreat you free of charge, do it. If it wasn't a specialist that did the root canal the first time around, go to one. Mine was done poorly the first time because it was done by a dentist that didn't have the microscopes to see the canals with.
Root Canal just not healing, what do I do??? 
