Possible tooth fracture under crown

[zinnia7]

I just read a most disturbing post on another thread:

"The other situation is a tooth that has a root canal and a crown. When there is an underlying fracture within the tooth, it is possible for air to get into the tooth, get trapped and then split the tooth."

Here is my situation. Last Friday I started feeling pain in the upper left side of my mouth. I have 2 crowns up there from root canals. (that are about 8 & 10 years old) I went to my regular dentist who saw no signs of infection on the X-ray. He told me to either see an endodontist for re-treat or an oral surgeon to have the tooth removed.

I saw the endodontist yesterday and he also said he did not see any infections but it is possible that a canal was missed during my initial root canal and it is just now bothering me. (huh?? after 8 years?) He also said it could be a crack in the tooth that is not visible on X-ray. The only way to know is to do the re-treat root canal and if it ends up being cracked I am S.O.L. because I will be out the $950 and I will have to have the tooth extracted.

There is also some debate about which tooth it is. He seems to think it is 15, but it's my mouth and I know where the pain is. I think it is 14.

He did not have any appointments available until May 3 or 4. I am leaving for Roatan on May 6. I was afraid to do it right before diving because what if something goes wrong? What if he does the wrong tooth? What if I have severe pain? What if what if what if. He said I should be ok to go diving and can make the appointment when I return.

I have been taking antibiotics for several days now and my pain is just about completely gone.

But now I fear my tooth will explode! Can anyone out there offer ANY advice?

Thanks.

 

[drbill]

I've lost two teeth that I think were due to air trapped under crowns. One of them (or at least the roots thereof, the crown is gone) still sits exposed in my jaw and has been that way for over two years with no noticeable problems. I will have to have the rest of it surgically removed at some point but it does not bother me.

 

[ppo2_diver]

Have you conisidered that it could have been from a sinus squeeze? Two weeks ago I attempted a dive and got a sharp pain right through the center of my #2 molar. I had to thumb the dive as I couldn't get down past 5 feet. I have a pretty deep filling in that molar and thought that there might be some decay under filling. I did a search here on SB and found that Dr. Larry Stein (SB resident diving dentist) has posted regarding this issue. I had a cold the week before. I made a dive the week after and the squeeze was gone. Don't rule out that it could be an odd sinus squeeze.

 

[zinnia7]

Both dentist asked me about sinus problems. I have never had sinus problems and I really don't think it was that. The pain was constant, but it hurt most when I would bite down.

Today the pain has sort of shifted to the inside of my mouth...more towards the center of my mouth. And now strangely closer to #15. But at the same time, it is nowhere near as bad as it was a couple days ago. This is all so confusing to me and I am getting terrified to dive.

 

[Damselfish]

From my experience and what my dentist says, it's sometimes hard to tell from the feel exactly which tooth is causing a problem. Easy to be off by one (or more.)

 

[zinnia7]

Ok...better safe than sorry I guess. I called the endodontist this morning and they had a cancellation for tomorrow morning. That is 3 weeks prior to my trip, so hopefully all will be well.

I will let you know.

And thanks to everyone for your advice!!

 

[zinnia7]

Well all is well. There was no crack or fracture. It was a missed canal from the first root canal 8 years ago. He said I probably would have been ok to wait until after my dive trip, but at least now it's over with. I have to go back in 2 weeks to get the permanent filling. He went through my existing crown, so I don't have to worry about getting a new one.