Accident in the Kitchen

[bruno5021]

I was doing some DIY in the kitchen and lost my balance and fell face first onto a kitchen work top, now three of my teeth were visibly damaged. The top two front teeth have a straight cut (one more than the other) and the top left tooth was sheered in half (since been repaired).

The problem is having i had an x-ray and showed across both roots on the top two teeth and the dentist (relief dentist not my own) has said they i require root canal treatment, which seems a bit odd when i hav no pain, only slightly the odd time when i eat but my mouth is still healing so thats to be expected isnt it.

So what i am asking you if i actually need root canal or would just a couple of crowns would surfice.

Please help im due in the dentist this friday.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post Bruno.

Having not seen your teeth or your xrays its difficult for me to say if root canal treatment is needed or not. If the pulp of the tooth where the nerves and blood vessels are kept is damaged by the trauma, then more than likely you will need root canal treatment and crowns alone will not suffice. Even if you do not have any pain at the moment, pulp damage will more than likely require root canal treatment and could cause pain in future if left untreated.

If the damage to the tooth is more superficial and affects the enamel and dentine only, then a crown will work nicely and root canal treatment is not necessary as long as the tooth keeps its vitality.

In cases where you have doubt with regards to the diagnosis, I would recommend that you seek a second opinion from another dentist or root canal specialist. Root canal treatment is irreversible, so once its begun you will have to have either full root canal treatment or tooth extraction.