Expert: Benjamin Schwartz, DDS FAGD - 12/11/2009

Question
Dear Dentist.  I am experiencing discomfort from one of my bottom wisdom teeth.  It is very sensitive to temperature and sometimes, it starts hurting for no reason.  My dentist took an panoramic x-ray and couldn't find anything wrong with it.  I am 55 years old and the wisdom tooth functions as a brace for my partial.  My dentist informed me that I probably need a root canal on the tooth and said that root canals on these teeth require a specialist and in this case, the specialist only takes cash or check payments and the fee is $1000 and doesn't take any insurance. Is root canal on these teeth very serious?

Answer
Hi,


Wisdom teeth are usually very curvy and difficult to negotiate.
This can make the root canal procedure very challenging to perform properly.
This is why your dentist recommended having a specialist treat this tooth.

However, you should still know, that you need to be careful with this tooth, even after the root canal is performed.
Make sure to leave the prosthesis out at nighttime, and to avoid eating too hard foods on this side. The 'rocking' motion of the partial, can cause the tooth to eventually become loose, and require extraction.

I hope this was informative.

Please let me know if you need any more help.