Pain after root canal and permanent crown

a few months ago i had a root canal done my an endo and then a crown put on by my general dentist.  everything went well then, however, just a about 1 1/2 weeks ago i started to notice this uncomfortable feeling in that same area and it has been progressing day by day, I didn't take any antibiotics because I already had an appt. to see my dentist for another tooth filling and I know that if they take an x-ray and I'm on antibiotics then they cannot detect what tooth is bothering me. So i waited it out over the weekend and lived off of Ibuprofen 800. the pain wasn't like a "typical" painful toothache, this time it is just a dull aching pain that felt also like a throb that went to the beat of my pulse.  The doctor touched around the tooth and used his utensil to feel around it and then filed it down some and said it is not infected that it could just be sore after some hard chewing or something and to just wait about a week and if it still bothers to come back. in 4 days it will be a week but i'm still hurting to the point of it just draining me all day long if I eat and accidentally touch it with my top tooth is HURTS then it subsided somewhat and is bearable. My question is:  could it be fractured? or not done right? it is not infected so why the throbbing? also, the decay on that tooth was deep but the endo did think it would be fine but since the nerve is gone why still the throbing discomfort?
thank you for reading and any info/knowledge you might have is greatly appreciated!  

[lynn117]

sometimes they take awhile to calm down. even though the root was removed the root tip and surrounding tissues could be irritated. it could also be you need to have the bite adjusted. if neither of these things is the problem it might need to be redone or it could be a root fracture which is considered fatal and will need to be pulled. i have had a root fractured crowned root canal for 6 years the pain comes and goes but am hanging on to it as long as theres no infection or bone loss. the deep decay should make no difference if it and the nerve was removed. if the pain gets worse dont wait for your next appointment call now!

[mommy2go]

thanks for reading and your response, i will definitely keep that in mind when i go back to the Endo.  So far what has happened after my post is that I couldn't stand the throbbing pain and just went to see my Endo he took 2 x-rays and just sat there starring at it and finally said,  "the tooth looks real good, I don't see any infection or anything wrong" he did also say that if the pain is continuing then surgery might need to be done, he said it with kind of a unreasurring look in his face.  then he said let's try antibiotics and come back in 2 weeks, so I said, okay but if it still hurts then at this point all I want is for it to be pulled out.  he kind of frowned on that but I don't care, i told him that when your feeling like this day after day and have 4 children to take of, you kind of want that pain to disappear... yesterday!  I did forget to mention that he said, when he did the root canal that he didn't get all the way down on one side of the canal because he didn't need to.  that made me think hmmm..  maybe he should have and that could be causing me all this grief.  ...   so i went home and just took a vicadin (which makes me a little nausious) but it did give me some relief. Now I'm on day 2 of antiobiotics the pain is still there but not as strong,  I'm wondering if it was infected after all and how could he not see it on the x-ray? I've had many root canals and crowns (not by him) and this is the first time i've ever experienced something like this, I told him that maybe it is fractured?  he said, no because I have a crown on top so it couldn't be fractured. (which i think it is possible to still fracture a tooth) anyhow, now i do the waiting game.  thanks for reading.

[Suzyq120]

I had a $4K bridge put on 20 months ago.  6 months ago, a periodontist determined both of my anchor teeth he secured the bridge to were cracked at the root (pain was the symptom, but not so severe as you describe).  So now I have  3 teeth pulled and am  wearing a partial until I believe someone in dentistry knows what they are talking about.  Of course, the dentist wants to put in implants (for a cool $10K), but I'm just not sure whom to trust anymore.  So don't believe a tooth cannot crack, and more to point, know that dentists can/and do put bridges on cracked roots...

[lynn117]

many fractures dont show on xrays. it could have fractured any time including during the procedure. not that the dentist is to blame but it happens. i would be concerned about the side he didnt finish. some canals are are near impossible to do by being either calcified or too curved. this could be the source of your pain. it seems like you dont have much faith in this guy and before you decide to have it pulled maybe a second opinion is in order.

[mommy2go]

Just an update of what has happened.  I finally just had the tooth removed.  After taking the antibiotics thinking it could be an infection, it still hurt after treatment.  I went back to my regular dentist and told him what the Endodontist had done and what his opinion was and my dentist told me that it could be 1 of 2 problems, first being a pocket inside the canal that is causing the pain and to find that out i would need surgery and if that wasn't the cause then it could be a fractured tooth in which case needs to be removed anyway.  So instead of going through surgery yet again, and paying more money, i just opted to have it removed by the oral surgeon who replaced the site with bone to prepare for an implant in the near future. Done! thanks for reading.
Gina