I think my dentist just root canaled the wrong tooth.

[Milk]

Hello Era. I'm kind of terrified right now.

Backstory: In February, I had some 'small cavities' filled. I had absolutely no pain before this and didn't even know the cavities were there. After the fillings, my big top left molar second from back had MASSIVE pain. It only subsided a little bit, and in April, I went and had that filling redone in hopes to make it go away.

The refilling did massively help to subside the pain, yet all these months later there was still a slight discomfort and tingliness to the tooth. Honestly, it was slight enough to even just live with if I had to. But who likes living with constant discomfort? In April after the refilling, I asked the dentist "If this doesn't work, what's the next step? Root canal...?" and he said yeah. So I finally scheduled one for this morning to permanently get rid of this feeling.

I'm already terrified enough as is leading up to it because it just feels weird. I'm only 24. To give up a permanent part of my body, even if it's just a tooth root, sounded scary as hell. Especially when I read that it's usually something for 40+ year olds. Then today when they're x-raying, and everything looks relatively normal, it's like man. This is usually something for super inflamed visibly-ruined roots, yeah? These look fine. But damn, what is this discomfort? Hopefully this works.

I mentioned that the tooth had cold sensitivity now and the dentist did a cold test with the cold air blower, going down the line of teeth. I had a bigger reaction when he blew on the tooth in front of the big one, admittedly, but didn't think much of it since I was specifically there for the tooth we filled twice now.

Then it's pretty obvious what happens from there. He's drilling and filling and I'm starting to realize wait... it doesn't feel like he's working on the back of my mouth. Holy shit, he's doing it on the tooth in the middle. I take my phone and type in the notes "Are you guys doing the right tooth?? It was the big one second from back that was hurting" and show them and he's like "I did the cold test and it was this one you reacted to? I assure you it's fine".

Now I'm at home and I'm just feeling absolutely dreadful. The awkward feeling for these past months has definitely been in the back of my mouth and here I'm sitting just feeling all the work done in the middle and I'm terrified I just had a perfectly healthy tooth rooted for no reason.

Like... what do I do here?! If things don't get better with this root canal and it really was the wrong tooth (here's hoping dentist knows best and this fixes everything!), like, shouldn't I do something? Isn't this like massive bodily harm in the long run? I was even handed a paper before the procedure that was talking about root canals and how root canaled teeth are typically prone to drying up and cracking so they'll put a crown on them too. What if I just doomed a tooth I could have had for life to needing to be extracted in 15-20 years? Not to mention the fact that this would also mean I need another root canal on the actual correct tooth soon too. Do I refuse to pay the bill for this one? Sue? Is that dramatic? I'm seriously freaking out. I cannot believe I finally decided to do the root canal and the wrong tooth got rooted. I am feeling such existential dread right now. Please let this have been the actual correct tooth and I was mis-analyzing my pain all these months or something. I'm so upset right now.

 

[Grouch Douglass]

Just go back to the dentist and tell them you have questions about the procedure. They should be able to show your x-rays and confirm/deny your fears.

 

[bionic77]

That is pretty hard to mess up.

When the tooth is infected all sorts of shit comes out of the tooth when they drill up in there.

Also you have to have some trust in the dentist that they got the right tooth. If the tooth next to it is infected that is usually pretty apparent via X-ray and the physical test they performed.

 

[Wrexis]

They take x-rays and have to drill around the damage on the tooth. It's not like they just pick one at random.

 

[bionic77]

They take x-rays and have to drill around the damage on the tooth. It's not like they just pick one at random.

Click to shrink...

There is also disgusting pus and some other bullshit straight from Satans anus that comes out when they start getting closer to the nerve root.

What the OP is worried about is possible but pretty unlikely.

 

[Milk]

Just go back to the dentist and tell them you have questions about the procedure. They should be able to show your x-rays and confirm/deny your fears.

Click to shrink...

They already know my fears. I brought up that I believe they're doing the wrong tooth during the procedure. They were x-raying throughout the procedure which I assume is normal for root canals, they were checking the root and the implant etc

That is pretty hard to mess up.

When the tooth is infected all sorts of shit comes out of the tooth when they drill up in there.

Also you have to have some trust in the dentist that they got the right tooth. If the tooth next to it is infected that is usually pretty apparent via X-ray and the physical test they performed.

Click to shrink...

I mean, that's also the thing and why I was so terrified of even doing a root canal in the first place. I'm no dentist but my roots looked perfectly fine on the x-rays prior to the procedure. They didn't seem concerned with them at all when looking at them. No abscesses or anything, I'm pretty sure none of them are even infected, he said back in April it could just be general discomfort from all the fillings I've had over the years, that the tooth was more filling than natural at this point and that can cause discomfort.

 

[DeltaRed]

 

[TheCthultist]

Two different friends of mine just had this exact same experience over the course of this past month. I had no idea this was something that could just… happen like that. Hopefully it's not the case here, but definitely go back and have them take a look. Just in case.

 

[Weebos]

If you're that concerned I would consider going to a different dentist and having them x-ray you and evaluate the situation.

 

[Mindfreak191]

I think you're overreacting dramatically....Also, root canals aren't reserved for 40+ year olds, sometimes you just have bad teeth no matter how good you take care of them, I had a cyst underneath one tooth, had to pull it, another one just kept inflaming, had to get all the roots out, a third one had a broken root (like the root bone was cracked, which was an anomaly in itself), that one was a goner too. For me it's definitely genetics since my moms side and her have always had problems, but again, Jesus you're overreacting, especially with the "loosing a permanent part of your body" line.

EDIT:
And of course, if you're feeling like they worked on the wrong tooth (which I doubt), you should just go back to the dentist and confirm it with them.

 

[TheOMan]

A good friend of mine had something similar happen where the dentist tried to pull the wrong tooth. He was literally crying in the chair because they couldn't extract it. Finds out later they made a mistake and attempted to pull a healthy tooth instead of the bad one. He definitely got paid.

All this to say, definitely go back and have them go over it with you because mistakes like this, while usually rare, absolutely happen.

 

[Landy828]

In this situation you should have another Dentist do Xrays and give you their opinion.

My wife switched dentists at one point and it was a WORLD of difference. She loves her new one, and is a bit miffed at her old one.

 

[Fleet of Foot]

Even if they did the wrong tooth, you're maybe overreacting a bit on what might possibly happen. I had a root canal and crown when I was about 30. It went fine and after a couple days, I didn't even notice. The tooth that's capped feels just like every other tooth in my mouth. And looks like a completely normal tooth too.

This is not "massive bodily harm" though if he did the wrong tooth and you have to go back for another one then yeah that's pretty terrible on his part and you definitely shouldn't be paying anything for either one of them (in my opinion).

 

[bionic77]

They already know my fears. I brought up that I believe they're doing the wrong tooth during the procedure. They were x-raying throughout the procedure which I assume is normal for root canals, they were checking the root and the implant etc

I mean, that's also the thing and why I was so terrified of even doing a root canal in the first place. I'm no dentist but my roots looked perfectly fine on the x-rays prior to the procedure. They didn't seem concerned with them at all when looking at them. No abscesses or anything, I'm pretty sure none of them are even infected, he said back in April it could just be general discomfort from all the fillings I've had over the years, that the tooth was more filling than natural at this point and that can cause discomfort.

Click to shrink...

My roots looked fine on 2 X-rays but the cold test was positive and I had horrible pain for over a month. Like I said when he drilled my tooth I could feel the pus drain out and the relief was pretty immediate.

Unless the dentist is a total scrub he/she would have known during the procedure if they did the wrong tooth.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

That seems highly unlikely

 

[El-Suave]

Something similar happened to me here in Germany years ago. My ususal dentist was on vacation and the other guy in the pracrice treated me. Had to go three times before the pain was gone. It wasn't a root canal but he clearly got the wrong tooth the first time. The worst thing wasn't the drilling or even the pain in the tooth, but after the third visit my jaw hurt from "opening wide" for so long days in a row. I couldn't open my mouth without feeling like it locked up for a few days. It was more annoying than worrying for me though.
At least over here the costs of those procedures wasn't an issue. That's what probably would worry me more in America, don't know if I'm right about that though.

 

[Kaeden]

There's also a thing called referred pain where the pain you're feeling seems to come from another tooth when it's not actually that one. Could be that. But yeah I can't see how a dentist has an xray and data pulled up before doing the procedure and just happens to pick the wrong one. I think that's incredibly unlikely.

 

[Qwerty Keyboard]

Having had 4 or 5 root canals in my 35 years alive, I can assure you they are not for 40+ year olds and are perfectly normal to have if you have issues with your teeth.

I had one on my left front tooth on Friday and spent the entire weekend on strong painkillers as the pain transferred to my right front tooth and the one to the right of that, it takes a good week, sometimes longer for the pain to subside and leave completely.

Just ask the dentist to show you the x rays and make sure the correct one was worked on.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

When I had my wisdom teeth out in high college, I developed a dry socket but the dentist accused me of trying to hit him up for pain pills and refused to treat me (despite telling him the pills didn't help at all and I didn't want more). I was in agony for a week until I drove the 4 hours home to my hometown dentist who took one look and said, "Oh yeah, that's a severe dry socket."

We ended up getting the work done free of charge after my mom called the office and put the fear of god into him.

 

[digitalrelic]

They already know my fears. I brought up that I believe they're doing the wrong tooth during the procedure. They were x-raying throughout the procedure which I assume is normal for root canals, they were checking the root and the implant etc

I mean, that's also the thing and why I was so terrified of even doing a root canal in the first place. I'm no dentist but my roots looked perfectly fine on the x-rays prior to the procedure. They didn't seem concerned with them at all when looking at them. No abscesses or anything, I'm pretty sure none of them are even infected, he said back in April it could just be general discomfort from all the fillings I've had over the years, that the tooth was more filling than natural at this point and that can cause discomfort.

Click to shrink...

I think there's some paranoia/anxiety going on here.

Thinking that they are either lying to you or misreading the X-Rays (that you apparently are able to read more accurately than them) is some kinda conspiratorial level stuff. If your dentist came to the conclusion that you needed a root canal, you probably did. And frankly if you didn't agree with that analysis you had the option of finding a second opinion elsewhere before agreeing to the procedure, but that ship has passed at this point.

If you still aren't trusting your dentists judgement/words, then at this point I would suggest going to another dentistry and asking them to confirm that the root canal was performed on the correct tooth.

 

[Brotherhood93]

I would say that it is very unlikely they worked on the wrong tooth but it sounds like you shouldn't be going back to that dentist again for any further work. A good dentist should have taken x-rays and talked you through the issue and what they were going to do beforehand, in addition to communicating through the procedure and afterwards to make sure everything was okay afterwards and answering any questions.

As mentioned by other posters though, if a dentist had performed a root canal on the wrong tooth they would definitely know not only from the x-rays but the nastiness that comes out of the infected tooth during the procedure. If you still have doubts then the only thing you can do at this point is go back to the dentist and explain your concerns, if you're still not happy then visit another dentist but it is definitely a good idea not to let the original dentist do any further work if you're not happy with them. I was surprised how much difference having a good dentist can make to the experience when I started going elsewhere. Obviously if they did somehow inexplicably work on the wrong tooth then you don't pay either.

 

[Stencil]

OP you should go back and ask them to walk you through it and tell them your concerns

A good friend of mine had something similar happen where the dentist tried to pull the wrong tooth. He was literally crying in the chair because they couldn't extract it. Finds out later they made a mistake and attempted to pull a healthy tooth instead of the bad one. He definitely got paid.

All this to say, definitely go back and have them go over it with you because mistakes like this, while usually rare, absolutely happen.

Click to shrink...

How do you mean? Did they end up suing? Cause that's a fucked up situation.

 

[TheOMan]

OP you should go back and ask them to walk you through it and tell them your concerns


How do you mean? Did they end up suing? Cause that's a fucked up situation.

Click to shrink...

Yes, he ended up suing, but the dentist that messed up is still practicing today and this was years ago.

 

[Rory]

I have been unhappy with similar feelings. My personal root canal experience (also done around beginning of 20) was similar to yours.

When children suffer pain, they often complain about stomachache, even if the head hurts. Children cant differentiate where the pain comes from exactly.

Now when i sat there i showed etc they de-rooted the canal etc. I felt like it was the wrong tooth, after it i suffered from high cold sensitivity and the tooth seemed off, so i went back. Twice. And yeah, after they fixed it in two more sittings, everything was fone again and it was the right tooth after all.

To define pain in the mouth is difficult even with 20-something. It does not occure often and we are not used to differentiate.

To loose a part of your body is not so much of a deal. I mean it does not fullfill any purpose anymore. Humanity does it all the time. Appendix, teeth, etc.

 

[ohabs]

If the tooth they worked on reacted more severely to the cold test then that's the tooth that needed a root canal. There is also referred pain where you might swear it's coming from one spot and the testing shows it's somewhere else, even referred from top to bottom or vice versa. The things people are saying about all the junk coming out is more applicable when the tooth is fully abscessed. If you can feel cold, it's not abscessed yet so it probably won't have anything gross coming out during the procedure.

Source: worked as a dental assistant for an endodontist for 7 years

 

[Rellodex]

I mean, that's also the thing and why I was so terrified of even doing a root canal in the first place. I'm no dentist but my roots looked perfectly fine on the x-rays prior to the procedure. They didn't seem concerned with them at all when looking at them. No abscesses or anything, I'm pretty sure none of them are even infected, he said back in April it could just be general discomfort from all the fillings I've had over the years, that the tooth was more filling than natural at this point and that can cause discomfort.

Click to shrink...

woah

honestly, sometimes you have to just trust the professionals, even with your own body. Don't be one of these bozos who assumed they're fine on a hunch or bad information and just lets treatable maladies fester in the name of....hubris? denial?

next time get a second opinion if you're so worried about it but contradicting medial professionals on a hunch is a bad path to go down.

 

[SuperBonk]

Ok so a couple of things.

It's perfectly reasonable to have the fear you're having but I'll try my best to re-assure you.

It's hard to say whether or not they drilled the wrong tooth for sure, I'd have to see the x-rays and perform the cold test myself. But since we can't do that I would also need some more information. Based on what you said, they treated the tooth more in front that had the strong reaction to the cold test but not the one behind which had the filling redone, correct? So try your best to answer the following questions:

For the front tooth that reacted to the cold, how long did the sensation last? Even if it's very painful as long as it lasts a few seconds and goes away it could indicate the nerve is still healthy and the root canal didn't need to be done. But if you have a lingering pain (usually > 20 seconds) to the cold it's a good indicator the nerve is damaged and the tooth needs a root canal.

Did the tooth in the back react at all to the cold? If it had a mild reaction lasting a few seconds that would indicate a healthy tooth but if it had absolutely no reaction it could mean the nerve is "dead" and a root canal is also indicated.

How often was the discomfort after you had the filling redone in April? How sure are you it was coming from the same tooth? Did you have cold sensitivity there before the dentist did the cold test? Do you still feel the discomfort now after the root canal that the numbness has wore off?

It would also help if you knew which teeth numbers were involved. Based on what you're saying it sounds like they did the root canal on #13 when you feel it should have been #14 (according the the universal system). Does that sound familiar?

Secondly, there is no shame in getting a root canal. I've done root canals on children as young as 13 so there's no such thing as a "usual" population for it. A root canal doesn't remove the roots of the tooth, it just removes the nerve and also fills it back in. The vast majority of the root is still present. Root canals, if done correctly, have a very high success rate (IIRC 98% after 8 years). I understand you're talking about something failing in 15-20 years but I've seen root canals that have been going strong for 40+ years and technology is only getting better. As long as you're going in for regular checkups they should be able to detect any issues early and fix them. Even if the tooth does ended up needing an extraction, there are multiple options to replace it and these should only become better and more affordable in the future.

Sorry if that was overwhelming but like I said, what you're feeling is natural. Dentistry unfortunately has no perfect answers. There are many cases where I cannot tell the diagnosis definitively from the x-rays and the symptoms but I will not perform a root canal unless I am absolutely certain the tooth needs one. That's why we have endodontists!

Hope this helps and feel free to ask me any other questions!

 

[Milk]

For the front tooth that reacted to the cold, how long did the sensation last? Even if it's very painful as long as it lasts a few seconds and goes away it could indicate the nerve is still healthy and the root canal didn't need to be done. But if you have a lingering pain (usually > 20 seconds) to the cold it's a good indicator the nerve is damaged and the tooth needs a root canal.

Click to shrink...

:(

It was just basic mild pain, instantly went away, did not linger. Even my reaction in the chair was more of a "eh.. eh... Ehhh.. eh" as he went down the line of teeth. Which is kind of confusing to look back on because for months now I'd get a pretty sharp feeling if I let ice near that tooth while drinking, which is why I mentioned that there's a cold sensitivity to the tooth now. But then none of those teeth felt severe to the cold air test.

I definitely had a completely healthy tooth rooted...

Did the tooth in the back react at all to the cold?

Click to shrink...

Pretty mild, not sharp or painful.

How often was the discomfort after you had the filling redone in April?

Click to shrink...

It's weird. That's also what's frustrating me about this whole situation. It's an incredibly, incredibly, mild discomfort. Most noticeable when chewing hard things (salad croutons, for example). I think the easiest way to describe it is that I'm aware of the tooth. You're never really aware of your teeth, y'know? They're just perfectly solid things in your mouth that do their job chewing food. But if I take my fingernail to this tooth, I feel things, an ever slight tingle. It's something I feel like a root canal is an extreme solution to in the first place because it's so, so mild. I've now scheduled an appointment next month with my old dentist (the dentist that did the root canal is a new dentist I've been seeing for just three years at the recommendation of a family friend) to have him look over the situation and see if maybe he could redo the drilling and make things return to normal without needing to go all the way to root canal.

How sure are you it was coming from the same tooth?

Click to shrink...

100% sure. It's unmistakably been the same tooth throughout this whole ordeal since February.

Do you still feel the discomfort now after the root canal that the numbness has wore off?

Click to shrink...

Yeeeaahhh. I can still take my fingernail to the back tooth and feel mild tingles.

It would also help if you knew which teeth numbers were involved. Based on what you're saying it sounds like they did the root canal on #13 when you feel it should have been #14 (according the the universal system). Does that sound familiar?

Click to shrink...

Assuming this chart lines up with your theory, you're spot on. He rooted 13 when I was there for 14.

Secondly, there is no shame in getting a root canal. I've done root canals on children as young as 13 so there's no such thing as a "usual" population for it. A root canal doesn't remove the roots of the tooth, it just removes the nerve and also fills it back in. The vast majority of the root is still present. Root canals, if done correctly, have a very high success rate (IIRC 98% after 8 years). I understand you're talking about something failing in 15-20 years but I've seen root canals that have been going strong for 40+ years and technology is only getting better. As long as you're going in for regular checkups they should be able to detect any issues early and fix them. Even if the tooth does ended up needing an extraction, there are multiple options to replace it and these should only become better and more affordable in the future.

Click to shrink...

Thanks. It does help to read members here talk about having crowns etc and that they feel perfectly normal in the mouth. What that doesn't help alleviate though is the absolute stress thinking about the bills I'll be getting for a root canal + crown for a tooth that was perfectly healthy and incorrectly rooted. Do I bring that up at next week's appointment to finish the root canal? I could be out hundreds and hundreds of dollars all for literally nothing, permanently changing my mouth forever on the WRONG TOOTH. I'm feeling so stressed thinking about it but I'm not sure how to approach that awkward topic with the place, I hate conflict and I'm kind of a doormat. But I'm really feeling dreadful thinking about the costs that'll be thrown at me and really feel like I should not have to be paying for this.

 

[Kamek]

:(

It was just basic mild pain, instantly went away, did not linger. Even my reaction in the chair was more of a "eh.. eh... Ehhh.. eh" as he went down the line of teeth. Which is kind of confusing to look back on because for months now I'd get a pretty sharp feeling if I let ice near that tooth while drinking, which is why I mentioned that there's a cold sensitivity to the tooth now. But then none of those teeth felt severe to the cold air test.

I definitely had a completely healthy tooth rooted...


Pretty mild, not sharp or painful.


It's weird. That's also what's frustrating me about this whole situation. It's an incredibly, incredibly, mild discomfort. Most noticeable when chewing hard things (salad croutons, for example). I think the easiest way to describe it is that I'm aware of the tooth. You're never really aware of your teeth, y'know? They're just perfectly solid things in your mouth that do their job chewing food. But if I take my fingernail to this tooth, I feel things, an ever slight tingle. It's something I feel like a root canal is an extreme solution to in the first place because it's so, so mild. I've now scheduled an appointment next month with my old dentist (the dentist that did the root canal is a new dentist I've been seeing for just three years at the recommendation of a family friend) to have him look over the situation and see if maybe he could redo the drilling and make things return to normal without needing to go all the way to root canal.


100% sure. It's unmistakably been the same tooth throughout this whole ordeal since February.


Yeeeaahhh. I can still take my fingernail to the back tooth and feel mild tingles.


Assuming this chart lines up with your theory, you're spot on. He rooted 13 when I was there for 14.

Thanks. It does help to read members here talk about having crowns etc and that they feel perfectly normal in the mouth. What that doesn't help alleviate though is the absolute stress thinking about the bills I'll be getting for a root canal + crown for a tooth that was perfectly healthy and incorrectly rooted. Do I bring that up at next week's appointment to finish the root canal? I could be out hundreds and hundreds of dollars all for literally nothing, permanently changing my mouth forever on the WRONG TOOTH. I'm feeling so stressed thinking about it but I'm not sure how to approach that awkward topic with the place, I hate conflict and I'm kind of a doormat. But I'm really feeling dreadful thinking about the costs that'll be thrown at me and really feel like I should not be paying even a penny.

Click to shrink...

Fam, you 100% bring this up. It's not awkward - it's your health. If they did do that that's on THEM and you should be compensated accordingly.

 

[Deleted member 8257]

OP I know its too late but in the future you should always get a second opinion from other places on big procedures, expenditures, etc especially if you have a strong feeling about it.

 

[Rory]

If the tooth they worked on reacted more severely to the cold test then that's the tooth that needed a root canal. There is also referred pain where you might swear it's coming from one spot and the testing shows it's somewhere else, even referred from top to bottom or vice versa. The things people are saying about all the junk coming out is more applicable when the tooth is fully abscessed. If you can feel cold, it's not abscessed yet so it probably won't have anything gross coming out during the procedure.

Source: worked as a dental assistant for an endodontist for 7 years

Click to shrink...

So much this!

 

[VeryHighlander]

I've had two root canals done. I'm 28. Some fuckhead dentist ruined my teeth when I was a kid. Two things.

1. cold test? Why? They've already done X-rays at this point; likely more than once. They know exactly where the issue lies. Why would they even bother with that? I didn't have any cold test. I went to two separate dentists after the damage was done and both came to the same conclusion after observing the X-rays. Idk that's really weird to me.

2. Go to another dentist. Ask for a check up/X-ray. If you're so sure they rooted a healthy canal you can sue their asses.

 

[Bashteee]

.

 

[purplemonkey111]

I had tooth pain that was really bad and my normal dentist couldn't find, went to a second dentist, that took a more thorough xray, and did a physical examination, and discovered one of my old fillings had rotted away, and the tooth and gum was infected, but because of the angel, the first dentist didn't find it. The pain was at tooth 10, but the actual infection was tooth 11. In the end, they had to remove tooth 11, but after that, the pain was gone along with the tooth.