I had a permanent bridge on 9, 10, and 11 teeth. i had to have a root canal on 11. then dentist (endro) told me he would drill underneath just like a cavety. when he finished, he had cut the tooth in half, now i have 9, 10, as regular teeth and 11 as a

It : It is not clear exactly what was done to tooth #11 to make cause it to be cut in half. Usually you can drill through the crown to do a root canal, and in the case of tooth #11 the access point is on the inside aspect of the tooth away from visualization. Too little information to make a comment about other options. Sorry.

With : With the information given, it is hard to tell what has been done. Normally if a root canal is accessed thru a bridge, the access can be filled, like a filling. However, if the tooth is severely broken down or the nerve space has calcified, performing the therapy can be a challenge and much of the restoration could be sacrificed. We always hope to access thru a restoration and keep it, but sometimes a new restoration after the root canal has been completed is necessary. It is not a fault of anyone or anything, it just is.