Runner,
I have no idea why the rush. It sounds like this dentist doesn't have a very full schedule if he can get you in for 5 hours at a time and move appointments up OR he gets a lot of cancellations.
Root scaling or root planing is the debriding of the root surfaces in order promote reattachment of healthy tissue. Usually they will freeze the area if the pockets are really deep (6mm or deeper), use hand scalers or ultrasonic/piezo scalers and sometimes irrigate with an antibacterial solution.

Is it normal to experience a lot of heat sensitivity in my molars. Is this because of the root canals needed? Also my front tooth that needs a root canal is still black at the bottom by the gum and on one of the sides by the gum is this normal?

The tooth that is black is probably because the tooth had been dead for some time.

Give the teeth that are sensitive some time to settle down. The filling is probably sitting very near the nerve. You should know better if root canals are needed within the next few weeks.

Tooth number 25 and 31 root canals done today. I'm not numb anymore but he doesn't think tooth 25 will work, severe decay and little to no tooth structure that isn't dead left. He did the canal work anyway and put on a temporary crown. Two more root canals next week. On a plus note my teeth are starting to not hurt. Still have some sensitivity on the back bottom right will see if that goes away after this root canal if not will need to extract some molars. FUN FUN FUN.

You should have a chair dedicated to you by the time you are done Runner!

Two more root canals today. He said that tooth 25 will need an extraction as well as tooth 30. One more root canal next week and extracting tooth 25. I can't wait until this is all over.

I can't believe that it's all been done in just over a month! Your dentist must be thrilled with you as his patient!

I had the last root canal and the extraction today, and I am in severe pain from the extraction. He put in a temporary until the implant comes in but my gums are swollen and tooth 24 now looks black on the sides. He did mention that I will need to come back for some bite wing x-ray's as tooth 24 might have a cavity. Why all the pain, when will it go away and why didn't he see the cavity initially?

If there is no tooth beside tooth 24 he should be able to see a cavity without a bitewing. The tooth could be black if the tooth that was removed had an amalgam filling between it and 24, sometimes you can get leeching of the amalgam onto a non filled tooth.

What do you mean he put in a temporary? Did he put it in the extraction site? Temporary what? Why would he not have the implant in the office ready to be inserted on the day of the extraction? Did it need a bone graft done first?

Rinse gently with warm salt water but just let the water run out of your mouth, DON'T SPIT!

He said he saw the cavity in tooth 24 but wanted a bitewing to see how deep. Yes I need a bone graft. Now he is saying a root canal on tooth 24. AHHH

WOW! I would love to see these x-rays!

All right all the root canals are finally done! Bone graft done. Now I go in today at 3pm for a cleaning and more x-rays wish me luck hopefully no more cavities

Good luck! I hope all goes well!

WEll it was better then the first time I had x-rays but he still found 3 cavities no root canals but need 3 more fillings. I want to rip out my teeth.

See if you can get your hands on some Oravive toothpaste. It will help remineralize any weak spots you have on your teeth. Ask your dentist about it. The other toothpastes you can try are Novamin, Restore or MI Paste.

Thanks Flossie,

I had the fillings done about a month ago and know I am experiencing pain in some of my teeth again on the top left. I have a dentist appointment in an hour to see what this pain is from however I think I have more cavities. Is there anyway the dentist could have missed the cavities in the initial x-rays? The reason I think the cavities are present is my friend who is a hygenist looked at my teeth and said she saw black spots.

Hi Runner,

What did the dentist say? Are there more cavities?
If there are, what are you eating and drinking? How many hidden sugars are you consuming every day?
Were you able to find MI paste?

Hi Flossie,

The dentist said I did have 4 more cavities and they were all new. AHHH. I drink manly coffee, water and 1/2 a glass of juice a day. I eat really healthy as I am a vegetarian however I eat a lot of fruit. Yes I was able to find the toothpaste. Also today I started noticing brown on 3 of my lower teeth near the gum line any idea what this could be?

Runner,
Are you taking any medications that cause your mouth to be dry? It sounds like the new spots you are talking about could be root caries. You need to be using a daily fluoride rinse or have your dentist make trays for you to apply topical fluoride at home on a regular basis. Try the MI paste between now and your next regular visit and see if things settle down.
Be sure you follow the directions for its use to a T.

FLossie,

What are root caries and how are they treated. I am using ACT floride is that good enough? I have the fillings scheduled for tomorrow on the four new cavities. I was going to point out the brown spots then.