“Can a tooth with a root canal hurt years later?”

Yes, root canals sometimes do not heal the infection and if the tooth infection persists or the tooth fractures years after a root canal you may still experience pain.

Yes it is possible to have a problem with a root canal even years after it was completed, some times there are secondary canals accessory, reactivation of and infection at the end of the root or a cracked tooth but the the nerve does not regenerate. Thank you

A tooth with a root canal can become symptomatic after couple years which you may need to have another root canal or have the tooth extracted

Yes it can- there are several reasons why it would hurt. Teeth that have had root canals are more brittle and are more likely to fracture pain could be due to a fracture in the tooth or in the roots of the tooth. Another reason could be reinfection of the canals. These teeth will need to be evaluated by an endodontist.

Yes it can. Some potential reasons are:
1. Reinfection in roots or bone
2. Fractured tooth under crown
3. Root canal tooth not crowned
4. Gum disease or infection

Yes. It is possible to have an infection around a root canal treated tooth. It could also be a cracked tooth. Either way you must get xrays and have the tooth treated as soon as possible

YES IT CAN. YOU WERE FORTUNATE THAT YOUR ROOT CANAL GAVE YOU THE EXTRA YEARS OF SERVICE. WHY YOUR RCT (ROOT CANAL THERAPY) TOOTH DECIDED TO START HURTING, NOW THERE ARE MANY REASONS. OUR TEETH ARE MOVING ALL THE TIME. YOUR TOOTH MAY HAVE MOVED TO A NEW POSITION THAT EVERY TIME YOU CLOSED YOUR TEETH TO EAT OR SWALLOW YOU MAY HAVE BEEN PLACING A STRONGER PRESSURE ON THAT TOOTH. YOU MAY HAVE HAD AN ACCIDENT AND THAT SIDE OF YOUR MOUTH MAY HAVE BEEN INJURED. RESEARCH IN DENTISTRY IS ALWAYS ADVANCING. RESEARCH IN MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY HAVE DISCOVERED NEW FACTS ABOUT THE HUMAN BODY.
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY BELIEVED THAT THE BODY COULD HANDLE ANYTHING. BACTERIAL, VIRAL AND FUNGAL THE HUMAN BODY WAS SO GOOD. THE LATEST RESEARCH IS NOW CENTERING ON INFECTIONS IN THE MOUTH AND TOTAL BODY HEALTH.
IN THE PAST MOST MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS BELIEVED THE MOUTH, TEETH HAD NO RELEVANCE TO THE REST OF THE BODY.
PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC DISEASES SUCH AS HEART DISEASE, UNCONTROLLED HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, INFECTION OF HIP AND KNEE IMPLANTS POST SURGERY.
WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONE BEAM DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY, DOCTORS WERE ABLE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE TIP OF ROOT CANALED TEETH(APEX).
IN THE PAST YOU ONLY HAD A TWO DIMENSIONAL IMAGE OF A THREE DIMENSIONAL OBJECT. YOU MAY HAVE GUM DISEASE THAT ALLOWED BACTERIA FROM YOUR MOUTH TO GET DOWN BELOW YOUR GUMLINE AND GET DOWN TO THE APEX OF YOUR TOOTH. BELOW YOUR LOWER TEETH AND ABOVE YOUR UPPER TEETH YOU HAVE LARGER BLOOD VESSELS THAT ONCE BACTERIA ENTER THESE VESSELS BACTERIA CAN BE CARRIED TO ORGANS VIA THE BLOOD VESSELS.
THERE WAS A TIME THAT IT WAS THOUGHT THAT OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WAS ABLE TO HANDLE ANY INSULT.
YOU HAVE A DECISION THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE ABOUT WHAT YOU WILL DO ABOUT YOUR ROOT CANALED TOOTH.
THE LATEST RESEARCH IS FOCUSED ON HOME CARE. PLAQUE FORMS EVERY DAY ON OUR TEETH. WHETHER WE EAT OR NOT PLAQUE FORMS. PLAQUE IS A STICKY WHITISH MASS OF BACTERIA. IF PLAQUE IS NOT REMOVED EVERY DAY BY
CORRECT FLOSSING AND CORRECT BRUSHING, PLAQUE WILL CRYSTALIZE IN 24-48 HOURS. CRYSTALLIZED PLAQUE MUST BE REMOVED WITH DENTAL INSTRUMENTS. THE DAMAGE OF NOT FLOSSING IS A SLOW PROCESS. WHAT NOT FLOSSING DOES TO DENTAL AND MEDICAL HEALTH IS JUST BECOMING EVIDENT.

Yes. If it never stopped hurting there may be a small portion of nerve still in the tooth. This is called a lateral canal which are normally very small and can be easily missed. If the tooth didn't hurt after the root canal and started hurting much later, the tooth may be fractured. root canalled teeth become more brittle than non root canalled teeth since the have no blood supply or fluids to keep it from getting brittle.

Pain in a tooth treated with a root canal can be related to a failed treatment, a fractured root, or something off in the bite, among other causes. You need to see a dentist before it gets worse. 

The question if a root canal tooth can hurt years later is simply yes. There are a few reasons this may occur:
1. The root canal could be failing.
2. The tooth could have fractured.
3. There could be an underlying periodontal condition.

Hope this helps.

Dr. Mantikas

Hello,

Yes, it can, for many reasons. You can possibly have a reinfection, a fracture, a high/traumatic bite, tissue inflammation, and maybe another possible issue. I recommend you get an examination by your dental provider.

Best Regards,

Andrew Adly, DDS

A root canal treated tooth can develop an infection, which results in pain. Also, a root canal treated tooth can fracture, this is often also painful. Have the tooth evaluated by an endodontist (a root canal specialist).

Of course it can. It could be due to the presence of bacteria from secondary caries or due to infection. You need to go to your dentist and take some X-rays to evaluate the tooth.

Good afternoon,

I'm sorry to hear you are having a toothache. To answer your question, yes, a tooth that has had a root canal can cause you pain. The pain could be coming from something as simple as a concussed (bruised) tooth so the ligaments around the tooth are inflamed, to a fractured root. An X-ray will usually give a pretty good idea as to the diagnosis. If it is something more serious like an infection or fracture, I wouldn't wait long to find out.
I hope this helps.

A root canal is a great treatment to help restore a tooth with large decay, or fracture to the nerve, however the treatment at times will not be indefinite. A retreatment of a tooth that already had a root canal is common. A tooth that had a root canal, but is beginning to hurt when you chew, or throb will potentially need to be retreated. A course of antibiotics and pain medicine can help null the pain for a little while, but if left untreated can hurt ever more so. I suggest you see your dentist as soon as possible to have the tooth looked at.
best,
Dr. Rhonda Kalasho

The tooth may have a fracture in the root, or the root canal is leaking bacteria down through the root.

Hope that helps.

Yes, absolutely. There is a possibility that the tooth treated with a root canal will hurt later if the tooth fractures, the root canal fails, or restoration on the tooth is not properly done. A new problem may arise on the tooth such as gum problems or additional tooth support problems.

Yes, few reason can cause a root canal to hurt few years later

Unfortunately a tooth that has had root canal treatment can hurt years later. A possible cause could be infection occurring in the bone around the root of the tooth. This would discomfort when biting down.

Although the tooth may no longer have vital nerve tissue inside it’s canals, it is still connected to the bone via ligament. There may be an inflammatory response taking place in the ligamental space if there was trauma to the tooth.

The best way to determine the actual cause for pain would be to see your dentist, have the tooth examined and radiographs taken to make a true diagnosis.

Several factors can cause this and it is best to have it checked by a dentist. Firstly, if the tooth was not crowned there could be a fracture. If it is a multi-rooted tooth, a canal could have been missed or not filled to the end of the root.

Yes. Potential issues: 1) new crack in tooth from trauma. 2) old abscess. 3) periodontal problems. 4) broken restoration.
Hope this helps.

Hello,

Yes, a tooth with a root canal can hurt years later. As a matter of fact, the amount of years relates to the success of the root canal. Two things are likely to have happened: re-infection (yes bacteria can get in there again and re-infect the tooth) or the tooth itself cracked. It is important to distinguish when it hurts.
Hope this helps.

Best luck to you!

William F. Scott IV, DMD