Will She Lose This Tooth?
Posted by writeradmin
A few years ago, I had an accident that broke off half my tooth and led to me needing a root canal treatment and dental crown of my lateral incisor (the one next to my front tooth). It was fine until recently, where I’ve had some pain on and off. I went to see my dentist who said he didn’t see anything wrong. I insisted there was, so he sent me to an endodontist. The endodontist said the pain is probably coming from the tooth next to it, but he doesn’t see anything on the x-ray. His theory is that I’ve probably been putting pressure on it while I sleep. I feel like no one is taking me seriously and am worried I’m going to lose the tooth. If I did, would a dental implant work for someone my age? I’m 32. If I do lose it, should the dentist pay for the replacement?
Angie
Dear Angie,
I’m glad you wrote. I don’t know why your dentist and endodontist found this challenging. You had serious tooth trauma a few years ago. It is highly unlikely that the adjacent teeth were not impacted by that. If you had a root canal treatment, then the crowned tooth would not be having the pain. On a back tooth there can be tricky canals, etc., but a lateral incisor would not be complicated. Because of that, the endodontist’s idea about it being referred pain from another tooth makes sense. However, I don’t agree with the pressure thing.
It is more likely that the tooth was damaged at the time of the original accident and is just now showing the signs. This is actually quite common, so that is what puzzles me about your care givers not considering that possibility.
If they don’t see anything on the x-rays at the moment, then I don’t think this is a dental emergency and would not stress about it. Instead, just have some x-rays done every couple of appointments to keep an eye on it. The most likely scenario is that at some point this adjacent tooth will also need a root canal treatment.
Nothing you’ve described makes me think that you are in danger of losing your tooth. But, if you ever do lose a tooth, then, yes, a dental implant would be an excellent tooth replacement. In fact, it is the best tooth replacement.
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