I had a lot of pain from erosion at the gum line on one of my molars. The dentist bonded in the area, but the pain persisted. 10 days ago, the tooth was prepped for a crown. During the prep, even though I was very numb, I felt some pain and pressure, which is not usual for me when I've been medicated. Before the Dr had completed the prep, he suddenly said "I'm going to take a break", then looked at his assistant and said "this is going to be a___(unkown word)______", in a very emphatic tone of voice. She said I thought so. When I asked her what he meant, she hesitated and said "shop talk". I didn't press the issue. While waiting for the Dr to come back, I realized that I could taste blood in my mouth, and commented about it to the assistant. She confirmed that my tooth was bleeding. Is this usual? I have other crowns which were done by different dentists, but I'm never had an experience like this one. I currently have a temporary crown and I notice pain every day. It's not constant, but it does throb, which makes me wonder if something went wrong during the prep, or if I need a root canal. Any suggestions?

I would have another dentist take a look at what was done. It sounds like this dentist got in over his head. Something like this happened to my husband several years ago. A dentist was extracting a wisdom tooth and soon realized it was more complicated than he thought. He just stopped, sent my husband home with pain killers and antibiotics, and a referral to an oral surgeon.

I had minor bleeding during my crown prep... but no pain and things went just fine.

There's a good chance your dentist nicked your gums while prepping for the crown. The throbbing tells me that he probably cut a little bit into your gums... hence the bleeding + pain.

If the pain's not all too bad, meaning it'll go away with an advil or two, then it should eventually heal. If the pain's ridiculous, then go to a diff dentist as you may be entitled to a lawsuit.

... of course, this is IF the dentist made a mistake.

Thanks for your response. After reading some of the posts about crown lengthing, I'm wondering if he might have cut away too much of the tooth. I know this tooth had a large filling in it. Another statement he made was,"there's the bruise". First I'd heard mention of a bruise. Since I'm having pain, I'm very concerned about letting him put the permanent crown on it, then finding out afterwards that I need a root canal. That happened to my husband twice several years ago. The dentisit drilled through a brand new crown to do the root canal, then he ended up with an infection, and had to have treatments, and eventually a new crown. Has anyone else had bleeding and pain from crown prep? Has anyone had to have a root canal after having a new crown placed?

My mom recently had to go in for a root canal. She had a new crown placed about... 3 months ago.

Like your husband, after about 2 - 3 months, she ended up with an infection. She went in for a root canal last week. Follow up this week.

It sounds to me like the dentist drilled too far and cut into the pulp (nerve) and yes, you probably will need a root canal. I'm guessing the dentist put some kind of sedative dressing in hoping that things will be OK.

Can you tell me what he did when he returned? Could you smell anything clove-like?

Your dentist is OBLIGATED legally to tell you what happened and what he did and what you should expect when you leave the office.

Thanks for your reply. He still had to finish "drilling" when he returned and I know I could smell something but couldn't think of what it might be. I would swear that I also could feel and smell something like medication or antiseptic as he was putting the crown on. I've never had a burning sensation from the cement which hold the temporary crown on, but something was causing that sensation. This is a new dentist to me, so I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten myself into.

You should voice your concerns with the dentist before he cements the permanent crown. You could see a specialist (endodontist) to see if he thinks that a root canal is going to be needed. It's best to have the root canal done before the crown is cemented.

Has the pain lessened since last night?

The pain is the same. Throbbing sometimes, and just aching others. The dentist office was closed today, or I would have called the office for the second time to voice my concern. I will not let them cement the permanent crown as long as I'm having problems. Thanks for your responses, help and support!

Are you taking any ibuprofen (Advil) to help with the pain? You should call the dentist at home and let him know you are having this problem. Why should he enjoy HIS weekend while you have to suffer through yours?

definitely the doc had gone beyond the area of work and have drilled into your pulp.Now R.C.T needs to be done... to be sure go to another dentist and get a X-ray done and ask him if there is any communication between your pulp and the filling or dressing... surely there will be... and then take this report to the other doc.and show it to him and ask for a refund because he had done which was not supposed to be done nad on top of that he kept you in dark... first get the r.c.t done and then only go ahead with capping... meanwhile start a course of antibiotics as your pulp might be infected along with painkiller... take a muscle relaxant also as you might be felling tired overall

Thanks so much for your response and advice. I will be calling to consult with another dentist ASAP. I'm also going to call my dental plan to let them know about this. The Dentist office told me my share of his fee is due when the crown is placed, so I'm not actually out of pocket yet.

Jst make sure that you get an early appointment,because now most propably your pulp chamber is open there is a chance of getting an infection,then there will be pain swelling,so its better to start with r.c.t. as early as possible...

Thanks! I definitely will do that.

Hi,
If u have throbbing pain, then there are chances that your pulp got exposed and dentist might have given a sedative dressing.. sometimes it happens when the erosion or decay is very near to pulp.
If the pain is persisting then u may have to go in for a root canal treatment to save the tooth.. after root canal treatment, u can go in for a crown and then u will be OK. There is nothing to panic about. Inform your dentist about your problems

Whatever happened? You can just post a concern, then have all these people try help by giving you advice, then you just leave us all hanging! That's just rude! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR TOOTH?