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Question:
Two months ago I had two crowns put on my molars. The one crown replaced a old crown and root canal, The other crown was put on a tooth that the dentist had filled. My temporary crown fell off the next day. The dentist told me not to worry about that. But my tooth was extremely sensitive and developed a throbing pain.
When I had my permanent crowns put on I told the dentist and he said the tooth was senstive due to exposure. I had pain for a week, and the dentist told me that it would take time to settle down. Then I broke out with a severe case of hives. My face, hands and neck swelled up to the point that I had to go to the emergency room. That was two months ago.
The hives continued and I have been to an allergist for treatment. A week ago, I began to experience tooth pain in the same area and then began to swell. The next morning, my face, neck and ear were triple the size and I had a fever of 103. I went to A different dentist and the tooth that had been crowned was abcessed.
I have been on antibiotics for 2 weeks and will loose my tooth, as well as $1000 , that I paid for the crown. The first dentist used up all my insurance, told me not to come back until next year, because I had no insurance left. Since the antibiotics, my hives have disappeared - could my hives have been related to the tooth infection? And, how could the tooth become so infected so quickly? I have read that tooth abcesses are caused by neglect. Was this neglect by my dentist? ...Mary in SC
Answer:
Mary, your question borders on legal issues that I do not want to get into,
however I can tell you that over 50% of teeth that are crowned end up with
root canals, sooner or later.
Your symptoms at the time the work was done were indicative of a developing infection, but many teeth have similar problems without any other developments. It is not wise to leave any temporary off of any teeth that are not root canaled, because there could be complications just like the ones you described.
Teeth have microscopic channels that feed the tooth with blood, nerves, lymphatics, etc. These channels get exposed when a tooth is crowned. Bacteria enter these channels, especially if a temporary is not properly placed on the tooth. These bacteria can ultimately infect the tooth.
The allergic reaction you experienced is strange. Infections usually don't cause hives, just swelling and fever. You may be allergic to the cement that was used to "glue" your crowns on. You should be tested for this by your allergist, because many of the products used by dentists currently have similar chemistry and you could have a serious allergic (life threatening) reaction later if exposed to any of these momoner products.
I doubt your dentist caused neglect, but he should have taken care of you once all of your symptoms developed. That's where I see the neglect.
Editorial Staff
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