Are there any dentists out there

General Discussion
1

Are there any dentists out there?


I attended my dentist today for root canal treatment on a tooth which had been filled some 30 or more years ago, but which recently had cracked. The old filling was removed 10 days ago and replaced with a temporary cover whilst I took antibiotics for a week to kill any infection.


So today, after removing the temporary cover and drilling a little more, the dentist started to drill into the three canals using 2 cm long tapered drills of varying diameter. The X-ray showed that two of the canals were what the dentist described as of normal width, the the third canal was much narrower. Half way though drilling into this third canal the drill broke, and despite trying to remove it for about 20 minutes, the dentist finally said he was not going to be able to do so.


So now two of the three canals to the problem tooth have been treated, but not the third which still has about 0.8 cm of drill wedged in it. I have had the temporary cover replaced and am to go back in a few days for the tooth to be filled.


My question is will the broken off piece of drill cause any long term problem, and presumably, I will continue to feel some sensation from the untreated canal.

2

Thanks for that Carol.

We are off to Nice tomorrow for a week, but when we return I will take your advice.

3

Oh my! I cant believe they have left you with this problem unsorted! At the very least you should have been referred to an Endodontist who works pretty much exclusively on root canals and gums. Whilst I doubt the actual broken part of the drill which could well be a diamond tip, is going to cause you problems, the fact your root hasnt been treated will likely cause pain. I had a similar problem, one root so tiny my consultant endodontist couldnt fill it and we eventually agreed the tooth should be removed. Did the dentist not have any suggestions for you? All I can suggest is that you ask at your local hospital if they have an endodontist practising there.