Is a root canal possible with fillings near the nerves?
Hi doctor,
My tooth has been filled and I went to the dentist and he took an x-ray and the filling was to close to to my nerve. He said he will have to do a root canal which I do not want to do. I was thinking of other ways to go around this because my nerve has nothing wrong in it. I do not think I should get one if my nerve is not infected. I was thinking he could just remove the filling and and replace it with a new one which makes sense. Anyway if we do a root canal he is going to drill in the filling anyway. So let me know if a root canal is the only option because I do not feel like going through that.
17 Apr 2024 - 1 min read
Why is there pain in filled teeth?
Hello doctor,
About a month ago, I got a filling on one of my front teeth, they called it a surface cavity but filled it like a normal cavity. For the first two weeks, I could barely drink room temperature drinks without being in agony. I made an appointment after two weeks to have my dentist look at it to make sure it was not cracked or anything. He never even looked at it, he gave me an antibiotic and said if it did not get any better, I would need a root canal. A few days later the sensitivity went away and I thought it healed. Last week, I noticed the gums above it have changed color. They are a slight red, purple and the gum itself is very sensitive. Under my nose and some of my cheek, I can feel where it is swollen (the gum). It also throbs sometimes. Should I take the antibiotic that my orginal dentist prescribed or should I just wait it out until I see the new dentist to see what they say? I am just scared. Is it an abscess and I do not want it to become more infected.
20 Mar 2024 - 1 min read
I have swollen gums near the extraction site. Please help.
Hello doctor,
Four days ago, I had surgery to remove four impacted wisdom teeth and one molar extraction. Yesterday, I began to develop swelling of the gums near the bottom right incision. Today, it has grown into a bubble covering the top of my back molar. The swollen gum covers one-quarter of the molar. It is bubble-shaped and deep red or white. Most of my pain has subsided, but this localized area hurts severely and has gotten progressively worse. I have continued with salt water rinses and the medicated rinse the dentist gave me. All of the other sites seem to be healing just fine. Should I be concerned about infection? It feels like my molar is cutting into this piece of gum, and it is a sharp, burning pain that is radiating. No fever is helped by pain medication, but pain resumes immediately when the medication wears off.
Please help.
26 Feb 2024 - 1 min read
How can a dent in hard palate due to hot food be cured?
Hello doctor,
I was eating a hot curry last week when the top of my mouth blistered over as if I had burnt the hard palate, which I thought was unusual as I felt the heat on my tongue first but did not. The blister has gone but left a small dent in my hard palate which I am concerned about as it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Is this common?
20 Feb 2024 - 1 min read
Can orthodontic treatment be done without extracting teeth?
Hello doctor,
I am 18 and currently have all teeth (except wisdom teeth) and braces for 10 months. My teeth are straight at this point but a few very small misalignments that will easily be fixed soon. I have an impacted tooth above my right-side second pre molar on my top row of teeth that is facing the wrong direction and needs to be removed. The problem is that my orthodontist wants to take out the tooth below it, the parallel second premolar on the left side of my top row and the two teeth on my bottom row matching where the top two are to balance out my mouth so it is not asymmetrical. (After these, the removed the braces would continue to close the gaps).
Do I really need to get four teeth taken out (five including the impacted one) in order to fix this issue? Not only does it seem like such a large amount of teeth to lose at a young age but I have also heard many scary stories about how this will change the permanent shape of my face and jawline. Do you agree with this decision? My orthodontist does seem knowledgable but I have never heard of someone personally who has had to get five teeth on all sides of their mouth removed for one impact. I am just really scared that my face will look terrible.
19 Feb 2024 - 1 min read
