Teeth - root filling / root canal

[richfinch]

Ive recently had a root filing redone (a year ago i had an abcess) and the tooth has always played up since, so a week ago the root filling was redone, but now its worse than before! it was a root filling that was done, i know my dentist might now suggest taking the tooth out (im 34 and always have teeth problems - runs in the family, but i dont fancy another tooth out) Is a root canal different to a root filling, and could this save the tooth?
thanks
richard

[MrXLA]

Hi richfinch root canal and root filling are the terms used by dentists to describe endodontics and they are the same thing.
Endodontics/root fillings can have high success rates especially in the absence of an initial infection.
However in your case you describe having an abscess prior to treatment so the chances of the first root filling working was always slightly lower than if there was no infection present.
Logically if you follow through then a re-root filling has an even lower chance of success and obviously in your case its looking like it hasn't worked (at least not yet however you only had it done a week ago and so its success cannot be reliably determined just yet)
The only options available to you are therefore:
1) Have your dentist re-root fill the tooth again (but this has a very low chance of success)
2) Have a specialist endodontist re-root fill the tooth which has a much greate chance of success (however even a specialist would not be able to gurantee any where near 100% especially since the tooth has already had two root fillings)
3) have the tooth removed

- the above holds true in most casese (especially when considering molar 'back' teeth) but it does depend on exactly why the root filling has failed

[MrXLA]

Just out of interest richard which congental dental anomaly runs in your family?

[MrXLA]

Hope this was helpful

[richfinch]

Hi

thanks for the advice, i already have had a few teeth out, mainly due to abcesses, so dont particulalry want to loose anymore, i did once have a root canal done at a specialist and was wondering if that was different from a root filling at a normal dentist.
Can i askwhat you mean by conegtal dental anomaly? My mum seems to have teeth problems, a lot of the time, and has had several removed. mainly due to teeth pain, not trough a lack of cleaning, in fact when i was younger i was alwoays told i had weak teeth
regards
richard

[MrXLA]

- dentinogensis imperfecta
- amelogesis imperfecta
- turner syndrome
- drugs administered to you when you were a child and you teeth were developing
- trauma to your deciduos dentition
- only a very small percentage of people have 'weak teeth' and I was just interested in what the cause was

[misslideaway]

Hi Rich,

Sorry to jump onto this question a few weeks later, but I wondered what the end result was? Reason being,, I'm in a similar situation.. 2 years ago I had a decayed back molar which my dentist told me he could save.. So he did, he drilled out the nerve and rebuilt the tooth. I had to go back twice more and have antibiobitics and a new filling as it kept getting inflamed.

This time, I went back- before any pain, because I felt that my bite was different - and we have found the beginnings of an absess. So I have been given antibiotics and offered either a root filling or an extraction - but he will have to refer me to a specialist as he is sure that it will be very difficult.

I have opted for the root filling... Now I'm not sure if this is the right choice..