Pain after root canal, crown lengthening, and temp crown

[Jesska]

I had a large filling that cracked, and went to get it re-filled. I knew it was a deep filling and would one day have to get a root canal. The dentist gave me a root canal that day, and a big goofy temp. crown, referring me to a specialist to get a crown lengthening. The temp was sensitive to pressure, but overall it wasn't very painful.
The crown lengthening, however-- was the most awful dental experience i've ever had (even worse than 3 impacted wisdom teeth). After the procedure, it was a throbbing "i have a large bloody hole in my mouth" ache, but has healed well over the week, and has now become a throbbing sensitivity issue. I can't close my mouth, talk, chew, and especially not touch the temporary crown, despite having happy gums and a root canal already performed.
It feels like the temp is the first tooth that touches my top teeth when trying to close my mouth.
Today I went to the specialist, as an emergency pain thing, and they looked at the x-ray taken BEFORE the crown lengthening (during which i heard loud cracking noises and felt pain as they removed my temp and...MY GUMS.)wiggled the temp a little, but did not remove it or adjust it. The dentist said he was afraid i cracked the tooth (on what?! pudding?! If I did it would have been done DURING the crown lengthening!) and his co-worker, the root canal specialist, said that I probably didn't have a cracked tooth, and that it was inflamation from the root canal...
I've never hurt so bad in my life, my temporary crown is huge and CRIPPLING me, and it seems strange that a specialist would refer to an x-ray taken before a pretty aggressive surgery.
From reading this forum, it seems as though many people have pain with their temporary crowns. My question is, what are the syptoms of having simple inflamation versus a cracked tooth? Why in the heck is my fake tooth POST root canal so sensitive when my gums are doing fine? And are there alternative options to take if it IS cracked-- do I have to have a bone graft in order to get an implant?
This is scary stuff  and it's so frustrating that professionals seem so unclear on what's going on in my mouth. I've already spent over 2,500 in the past two weeks, and if this stupid tooth is cracked, it's all for nothing.
Bah.

[Tooth_Doc]

Crown lengthening is a procedure involving removal of hard and soft tissue to expose enough solid tooth structure to attach a crown to. When the tooth is this broken down / damaged, the alternative is often an extraction. Significant discomfort / pain post operatively is a result of the invasiveness of the procedure.

[xengab24]

I just had a crown lengthening a week ago.  they had to shave down some bone next to/or on the last tooth on the bottom (they said it was tooth #18.  
Most of the pain went away but I too have the throbbing you were talking about.  I touched the tooth today and its sensative and loose..... it wasn't loose before!!!  I'd really hate to think I got all that work done and spent all that money for the lengtheing and root canal and crown... not to mention the horrible pain, just for it to be loose and possibly have to pull it?  I mean, is there a way to "fix" a loose tooth?

I wasn't eating anything on that side and what I was eating was soft.... things like pudding, yogurt, pasta (even that hurt) so can someone please tell me if this is normal?

[mike1105]

better dentists refer patients for crown lengthening procdures when a) a tooth is fractured or decayed more than a millimeter or so below the gumline or b) the tooth itself is too short to retain a crown. Crown lengthening is a procedure that exposes more tooth structure so that a crown can be properly placed. It can casue some soreness for a few days, but it should not cause a toothache. It may be that indeed there is a fracture, and if so, it probably happenned when you initially broke the tooth and not from any dental procedure you had. It should be detectable by your dentist. One dental procedure that may cause a fracture is the placement of a post, but this is unusual and it does not seem that you had that done yet.. If the crown lengthening procedure involved the removal of some bone around the tooth, indeed that can be somewhat painful for a few days. I'd discuss these issues with both your dentist and your periodontist. Each crown lengthening procedure is different. Some are easy, some are more involved-- it all depends on the tooth.

[bungietwo]

I have worked in a dental office for over 15 years and I have never heard of someone getting a crown legnthening. Usually, a crown prep is done, a temporary crown placed on top (and sometimes does need a heigth adjustment- a very simple procedure).  Then within 2 weeks the permanent crown is back from the lab and cemented on.  I would think that the temporary crown in hitting too high and needs adjusting (at no charge, too!).  If the root canal was done properly,  the nerve has completely been removed and the only pain you might experience is due to a failed root canal (sometimes happens), infection still at the root tip, or a poorly fitting temporary crown.