Expert: Frederick R. Liewehr DDS, MS, FICD - 5/15/2007

Question
I had a root canal done on my bottom right back molar in January of 2006 and it was never finished, meaning the temporary filling is still there. Well, recently i've noticed that the temporary filling is starting to break down and pull away a bit from the tooth. My question is how bad, if at all, will my tooth  hurt if the temporary filling ends up falling out? I can't afford to have anything done with it until the first of next month so i'm eating on the other side of my mouth in the meantime. I'm terrified of mouth pain as I just got over a severely abscessed molar that had to be extracted and it was the most miserable week of my life. So i'm trying to avoid this!

Thanks!


Answer
First, I don't know what you mean, "it was never finished." Do you mean the root canal itself, or was it done and simply not restored? If the root canal was not finished, then you just need to get it finshed and restored. If it was finished but not restored, if the temporary filling is made of Cavit, and the opening is other than a simple, small, deep hole, then that material is not recommended for more than a couple weeks. When it breaks down, as Cavit does very quickly, it will allow saliva and oral bacteria to enter the tooth. They then will reinfect your tooth. Where you eat is of no help. If your tooth has been recontaminated, the root canal therapy will need to be redone. You had better have it checked immediately and see if it is not too late. Sorry to give you the bad news.