I went in to see an emergency dentist because of a toothache. He did an x-ray and couldn’t find anything. However, he said based on my description of what I’m feeling he thinks the tooth is cracked. He offered to provide me with a crown right then. I agreed, but now I”m wondering if I should have gotten a second opinion. Something is still hurting and now the tooth next to the one he crowned is turning gray. Did he do something to damage the tooth?

Christine L.

Dear Christine,

There are a few possibilities here. Before we address those, I noticed you had to see an emergency dentist but didn’t imply it was an emergency appointment with your own dentist. Does that mean you don’t have your own dentist? If you do, most dentists will see established patients after hours for dental emergencies.

If you don’t have a dentist, is it because of dental anxiety or financial reasons. If it’s financial, there are dentists who’ll work with you on paying out the care you need. It’s actually cheaper to do regular maintenance than it is to wait until there’s an emergency. Most people think they’re saving money by avoiding their cleanings, but it usually ends up doing the opposite.

What Could Have Happened with this Emergency Dentist?

• New Tooth Trauma

I started with this because even though it is not the most likely it is a possibility. There is always the chance that you just happened to end up with new tooth trauma directly adjacent to your crowned teeth. Like I said, not likely but possible.

• Misdiagnosis

You mentioned the dentist couldn’t find anything wrong and gave his best guess at the cause of your pain. It’s a likely possibility that his best guess wasn’t correct. You could go for that second opinion you were considering. If it’s obvious on the x-ray what the actual diagnosis was and the dentist missed it, you would be entitled to a refund.

• Simultaneous Injury

The most likely scenario is both teeth were injured at the same time, just in different ways. When a tooth is gray it means it is dead or dying. This will need a root canal treatment and probably a dental crown. You will need to see a dentist for that. You can either see a different dentist in order to get that opinion at the same time or go back to the original dentist and have him do the work.

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