Crowned tooth needs root canal?

Three years ago I had a cracked upper molar repaired with a crown. The
crack had formed between two old fillings that were on the molar since I was
a teenager. Since the crown was placed, the tooth has been symptom free and
great until a few weeks ago when I began to get intermittent pain when I
would chew hard foods such as raw carrots. That is the only symptom I am
having. I went to my dentist who x-rayed the tooth and found no sign of
infection. The occlusion was checked and some minor high spots were found
and they were buzzed off. Unfortunately the pain is still there, but it
happens only when I chew really hard foods like a raw carrot or tough apple
skin. I've been referred to an endodontist.

Will the endodontist be able to diagnose if the tooth could benefit from a
root canal if there is no infection showing up on the x-ray? This tooth
feels so much like another cracked molar I had that ended up needing a root
canal. The differences are that the other molar didn't have a crown on it
and it was never diagnosed as being cracked until it was already diagnosed
as being abscessed. By the time I was referred to an endodontist an abscess
could be seen on x-ray.

Thank you for any input you can give me on this situation.


.

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