root canal or pull it?

[Miss Sparkly]

So, I know that dentists are always in favor of a root canal then crown. I'm leaning towards pulling the darn thing! I've heard bad things about either option (this is the bottom right all the way in the back) however, it seems that root canals have more issues. When I smile, nobody can see my lower teeth anyway. It just really, really upsets me that I maxed out my insurance on two crowns that my dentist said would fix the pain, he thought because the other white filling were seperating from the teeth that is was causing gum and tooth pain, only to find out that now he thinks he drilled and filled too close to the nerve. I go to a specialist on Thursday to find out. So, would you say pull it or root canal?

 

[Nashville]

But if you pull it, won't that affect your chewing? I don't know the first thing about teeth, but I'd want to keep them all if possible. I sincerely hope you find some relief from this pain!

 

[sphenequeen]

I wish you the best of luck on your decision. I am not a fan of the dentist...

 

[monarch64]

In my very humble opinion (aka "totally unprofessional"), I would not pull a tooth so important as a molar unless I absolutely had to.

That said, your specialist should be able to tell you what the best plan is and why. Gosh, teeth are just such tricky things and not fun to deal with...

What do YOU think? Do you think you can really live without this tooth? Would you consider an implant if you choose to have said tooth removed? Something to consider...

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I guess at this point I'm just so upset that it's come to this. It was filled back in May and the dentist knew it was close to the nerve. I've been back four times just because of pain in this tooth and every time he took xrays and said that the root looks very healthy. Then he told me that doing a crown on the tooth next to it would fix the issue. Instead, I'm in a lot of pain which painkillers cannot get rid of. I also noticed tonight that it's a bit loose I have TMJ on my right side (where this molar is) and I'm wondering if I've ground it loose at nighttime (I grind my teeth when I get stressed).

 

[marcy]

Sorry to hear about your tooth pain. I hope they get it fixed for you.

 

[kenny]

Saving teeth is a very good thing.
You need them.
Think long term.

When you get old you need to hang onto as many as possible as long as possible.

My dentist tells me that you do NOT want dentures.

 

[SeattleSweetheart]

Keep your tooth if you can. I have worked for a dentist for 13 years doing scheduling, insurance billing and patient education. Believe me, you will miss your tooth if you loose it.

Loosing a tooth means you can't chew your food as well. Also your other teeth have to take on a larger work load to make up for the lost tooth which means you are more likely to break another tooth. Because of the teeth grinding you do, you are at higher risk for loosing other teeth with each molar you loose. So unless you plan on replacing your lost tooth with a bridge or implant, both of which are more expensive than a root canal and not as good as a natural tooth, do everything to keep your natural tooth.

Tooth pain totally sucks so I completely understand why you are considering pulling it, but if you can keep the tooth, keep it. I'm sorry that you have to make this tough decision.

 

[Imdanny]

I guess I'd want to know what the specialist said before making a decision. I'm so sorry you're in pain.

 

[miraclesrule]

I am an unofficial expert on teeth. I have a three and a four piece bridge, and implants.

I can tell you that depending on which tooth it is...there is a clear cut decision. The last one...eh...that depends on whether you have wisdom teeth. Generally, you want to avoid two teeth that are next to other, to be pulled.

There is a lot of controversy over the effects of root canals from a long term perspective, so I think if one could live without a tooth, it is not only healthier on a physical basis, but a financial one as well. It needs an analysis.

 

[swingirl]

I would try to keep your tooth because even though you don't think anyone sees it, it is a place holder in your mouth. When it goes the rest of your teeth will start moving. I have several root canals and have never had any problems with them. Most of them have crowns. My oldest root canal crown combo is close to 40 years old and it's even been pushed around with orthodontia treatment. Of course, you should wait to hear the second opinion.

My daughter had a painful deep filling that they could not find anything wrong with. Finally our dentist came up with an idea. He removed the filling, treated the hole with fluoride, and refilled it. It solved the problem.

 

[PinkTower]

I would keep it if I could.
I have one that has already had a root canal that needs to be pulled. I keep fighting it. Once they start hurting again after the root canal, THEN you will have to make a decision as to when to have the tooth pulled.

 

[diva rose]

Saving teeth is a very good thing.
You need them.
Think long term.

When you get old you need to hang onto as many as possible as long as possible.

My dentist tells me that you do NOT want dentures.

Kenny is totally right - you want the save the tooth as much as you can.
My DH is a dentist - so I know. Go see the specalist.
If the tooth is beyond saving, they will let you know.

 

[Pandora II]

I have genetically missing teeth - me, my sister, father and grandmother all have the upper second premolar missing on one side and no wisdom teeth and due to taking large amounts of tetracycline as a young child during a cholera epidemic I also have thin tooth enamel and stripes... hooray... did I ever mention that I hate my teeth!

Recently I had to have the upper second premolar on the other side removed - it had grown in badly and I'd had endless problems with it. They tried to save it but there was no chance in the end so I opted to have it removed. I have the option of having an implant and if it wasn't at the back of my mouth, wasn't so expensive and if I didn't have a matching gap the other side that I can't have an implant in then I would have opted for one.

As it is, I now have matching gaps!

I've never found it a problem eating with gaps - I suppose the first week I was very careful but now it's really not an issue at all.

So, if I were you I'd have it removed and have an implant instead.

 

[missy]

Saving teeth is a very good thing.
You need them.
Think long term.

When you get old you need to hang onto as many as possible as long as possible.

My dentist tells me that you do NOT want dentures.

That is very true. My dad is a retired dentist and he always told me that. In fact, except for your wisdom teeth, you really do want to hold on to as many teeth as you can. I feel for you as I have been through 3 root canals and crowns and it isn't fun but it is worth it to get rid of the pain which I know is excruciating. I recommend having the root canal done by an endodontist and not a dentist as that is their specialty. Your dentist can make the crown. Best of luck to you.

 

[soocool]

Another thing to consider is if you have the tooth pulled, it could shift the positioning of the rest of your teeth posing a potential bite problem down the road.

A possibility: If the tooth is pulled could an implant be done later (in a year or too?)

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I would try to keep your tooth because even though you don't think anyone sees it, it is a place holder in your mouth. When it goes the rest of your teeth will start moving. I have several root canals and have never had any problems with them. Most of them have crowns. My oldest root canal crown combo is close to 40 years old and it's even been pushed around with orthodontia treatment. Of course, you should wait to hear the second opinion.

My daughter had a painful deep filling that they could not find anything wrong with. Finally our dentist came up with an idea. He removed the filling, treated the hole with fluoride, and refilled it. It solved the problem.

I have wondered about this, that if I have the white filling removed and replaced with silver if that would solve the issue. I've never had luck with white fillings as they don't seem to bond well with my teeth. That's why I ended up with two gold crowns on my molars. Because the white fillings were seperating from my teeth and they were getting hairline cracks down the middle. Could just be that I need a different dentist

 

[soocool]

I would try to keep your tooth because even though you don't think anyone sees it, it is a place holder in your mouth. When it goes the rest of your teeth will start moving. I have several root canals and have never had any problems with them. Most of them have crowns. My oldest root canal crown combo is close to 40 years old and it's even been pushed around with orthodontia treatment. Of course, you should wait to hear the second opinion.

My daughter had a painful deep filling that they could not find anything wrong with. Finally our dentist came up with an idea. He removed the filling, treated the hole with fluoride, and refilled it. It solved the problem.

I have wondered about this, that if I have the white filling removed and replaced with silver if that would solve the issue. I've never had luck with white fillings as they don't seem to bond well with my teeth. That's why I ended up with two gold crowns on my molars. Because the white fillings were seperating from my teeth and they were getting hairline cracks down the middle. Could just be that I need a different dentist

I had all my old silver fillings taken out and replaced with the white ones several years ago. (All I know is that in order to put in silver fillings more tooth structure has to be removed. ) Since I had all of them replaced within a few months of each other, I had such pain on the right side of my mouth for a while. No abcesses, but I couldn't pinpoint what tooth it was.All of them hurt. It took sometime for the entire right side of my mouth to settle down until I could pinpoint what tooth it was (upper right rear molar - last tooth and a tough one to reach easily). So I got a root canal and I remember after getting the crown the tooth still hurt for awhile and another tooth which had a deep filling also still hurt. I made sure I did warm salt water rinses and used Sensodyne until it subsided after a few months. I haven't had any problems since.

I know whenever I had a toothache, the thought of just ripping it out to feel better always entered my mind.

 

[pinkstars]

I actually had a root canal done on same tooth when I was 14, then at 18 I had a crown put on it. I got a gold crown(I didn't want to deal with porcelain possibly breaking with no insurance.) It isn't very attractive, but people really don't notice.
Personally I feel that I would have a heard time with that tooth missing, but it's up to you. That's so lame that your dentist didn't just take care of it from the beginning though.

 

[Bliss]

Oh, I am sorry you are going through this! I would DEFINITELY try to save the tooth. Find an AMAZING top of the line oral surgeon to do this - like a very skilled endodontist, not just any dentist. Sometimes root canals can fail (get infected) and that is more pain and surgery down the road, with a lost tooth. It is worth it to spend the money, IMHO.

I have one dental implant from a root canal that failed unfortunately years and years later - and it cost well over 10k out of pocket at the time to do so but it is worth it if you are young. Firstly, if you are missing a tooth that important, you will lose bone density in your jaw. Not having a tooth means you are not giving constant pressure to that area in your jaw bone and it will deteriorate and weaken over time - and possibly compromise the stability of your other teeth, creating a sort of domino effect of weakening over time. Molars are VERY important teeth, btw! Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't critical to the overall dental health of your mouth and supportive to your other teeth. Hope you get this taken care of and again, I'm sorry this is happening to you!

 

[kenny]

Another reason my dentist told me to floss and brush daily, get 6-month cleanings and save every tooth I can is dentures hurt your overall health.
He said people with dentures are much less likely to eat a healthy diet (it requires not just more chewing but sometimes chewing becomes difficult or painful or a hassle with false teeth).

He said the resulting poor nutrition makes our health decline and thus we age faster.
He also said dentures affect your face's bone structure in way his clients say they do not like, and they all say they wish they had flossed and made better choices when they were younger.

 

[Fly Girl]

Try to save your tooth.

DH was having a root canal done on the last molar in his jaw and the tooth broke. So he was sent off, x-rays in his pocket, to have an emergency extraction. (The root canal doc does not do extractions, apparently.) The problem with losing this tooth is the tooth above it has nothing to press against, and eventually will hyperextend. He could not get a bridge, since it was the last tooth, so he had to get an implant. Our insurance does not cover implants, in spite of numerous documents sent by our dentist proving it was medically necessary.

By the time his jaw healed up and they were able to put in the implant, the molar above it was already beginning to hyperextend. So we got the work done just in time. The implant was successful and healed well, but there remains a pocket in the gum next to the implant. So, after every meal he is fussing with toothpicks removing food from the pocket. We can certainly live with the fussing and the expense, but a successful root canal would have been better.

 

[Pandora II]

$10k for an implant!!!

A really top private dentist here in London will charge around £2.5k GBP for an implant.
You could have a very nice vacation in London...

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I'll do my best to see what can be done to save it. Appointment moved to tomorrow morning so I'm crossing my fingers it's fixable tomorrow.

 

[LGK]

OK I didn't read any of the replies, but I have a number of fewer teeth than usual myself. when I was just getting my adult teeth I had an insane dentist who was tooth-pull happy and he decided I didn't need four of my adult molars for some weird reason- he pulled the baby teeth on top of them and then the adult teeth under them (8 total, 4 baby molars & 4 adult). Although I have a *lot* of space behind my last molars (no wisdom teeth either) I have never missed them, at least. I don't know if it would mess up your tooth alignment to lose one, as an adult, though?

 

[Miss Sparkly]

OK I didn't read any of the replies, but I have a number of fewer teeth than usual myself. when I was just getting my adult teeth I had an insane dentist who was tooth-pull happy and he decided I didn't need four of my adult molars for some weird reason- he pulled the baby teeth on top of them and then the adult teeth under them (8 total, 4 baby molars & 4 adult). Although I have a *lot* of space behind my last molars (no wisdom teeth either) I have never missed them, at least. I don't know if it would mess up your tooth alignment to lose one, as an adult, though?

YIKES! I wonder if we had the same dentist as a child Mine thought that instead of giving me enough of the numbing shot he'd have his dental assistants hold me down instead

 

[Tacori E-ring]

pulling should be the last resort.

 

[Bunny007]

I had a root canal in the same spot a few years ago. It wasn't that bad and there were no complications. I would never have a tooth pulled if I could help it (it's your TOOTH!!). It's far more expensive to get an implant, if that ever becomes necessary.

I've also heard that gums lose their structure really quickly when there's no tooth to create pressure on it. My dental school friend had a better, more scientific explanation, of course, but that is what I took from it.

 

[deegee]

My dentist always wants to do whatever is necessary to save a tooth. Last month I broke a molar and exposed the nerve. My dentist referred me to an endodontist, who had the whole root canal done in less than 45 minutes. It has a crown on it now and I feel normal again! I had one other root canal 7 years ago and have no problems there either. I hope you get yours straightened up really soon. Tooth pain stinks!!!!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Nerve is dead but the tooth can be saved. Yay for that. The lower right of my mouth will be blinging with all the molars having gold crowns. The endondist (sp?) sadly said that a lot of this could have been prevented if my dentist had got me a mouth guard. Oh well. Live and learn.