Hello, Doctor. I treated the root canals of tooth 14 in a patient, but the patient says, ‘I feel pain when I touch the cheek side.’ I took repeated periapical radiographs, but the filling looked quite good. Then I carried out retreatment, and the patient returned with the same complaint. What approach do you think I should take? No apical radiolucency is visible.

Question

Doç. Dr. İsmail Davut Çapar · Accepted Answer

When the root is tilted buccally (root dilaceration), the root tip may lie outside the alveolar crest in contact with the mucosa. In this situation, the patient may feel pain when pressing that area with a hand. CBCT may be requested to identify this. The patient can also be informed that pressing there with a finger may feel different for this reason and that this may be normal.