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My doctor told me there is no way I can prevent the bacteria from attacking my poor tooth, and I will have to do a root canal with crown. I did the filling, but worry my tooth will ache further. Is there any way to prevent doing root canal and crowning or extracting the tooth? Many thanks.
By SSSdy
Why don't you want to have the root canal and crown? Eventually the time will come that it will have to be done or have the tooth extracted because it will keep deteriorating.
It would be best to have the root canal/crown done. You don't want to have your tooth pulled as once a tooth is gone, it is gone, so to speak. Hold on to your teeth. I have had several root canals done and can honestly say that I did not experience any pain.
I think that in the past a root canal was a pretty harrowing experience. Talk with your dentist, tell him your fear. He can prescribe pain medication (and novacaine) for you to help with any pain you might experience.
The nerve in the tooth is dying and that is why you need the root canal. If you don't have it done, eventuallly the tooth will split and you will lose in entirely.
I have had a root canal done with a gold crown. It was expensive, but the tooth is great. There is no pain involved with this procedure.
However, I have also had a tooth extracted instead. It was the very back molar. My dentist said that tooth was too far gone for a root canal, and that I had plenty of great teeth so extraction was his recommendation.
My advice is to get the root canal done when your dentist recommends it, as you may end up with extraction being the only sensible option. Get moving on this before the tooth decays further and you have toothache pain.
I have crowns, a root canal and two implants. Painful? no. Expensive? yes. You don't say if the tooth is an upper or lower. If it is a lower and you have it extracted two things happen. One the upper tooth above the gap will grow down in to the void.
If it is a tooth not seen, I'd have it pulled. The dentist is there to make lots of money on root canals and crowns. They are way over charging for these services!
I would never have a root canal done! They are a waste of money. I know several people who have had them done and within two years it was back to the beginning. These people did not have the same dentist.
I just had a crown done and was talking to my dentist about crowns and root canals. He recommends crowns more than root canal the root canal has a better chance of messing up and you end up having to pull the tooth anyway. So my opinion is to pull the tooth and don't go through the pain and expense!
The purpose of a root canal is to save the tooth and avoid an extraction.
Once the nerve of a tooth is exposed (by the tooth cracking, breaking, decaying, etc) the nerve will die. If the dead nerve is not removed from the tooth, it will decompose in the tooth, and the bacteria from the decomposing nerve will cause infection and pain.
The removal of the nerve is the root canal. After the nerve is dead, the tooth becomes brittle. This is why a dentist recommends a crown--to protect the tooth from totally breaking down to the point that it has to be extracted.
When a tooth is extracted, other surrounding teeth will migrate toward the open space if nothing else is done. If this is a back tooth, there would be no problem. If a tooth in mid-mouth, it can cause your bite to be off (misalignment), which can cause pain, not to mention cosmetic problems.
If it is a front tooth, you will also have that unsightly gap and some speech impediment. And yes, you can lose some bone where an extraction has taken place, causing problems with neighboring teeth. (Down the road, if you have too much bone loss and need dentures, the dentures may never fit you correctly.)
Some dentists used to make a flipper - a single replacement tooth that clipped onto the teeth on each side tooth of the removed tooth, but flippers tended to slip off, get swallowed, and cause other problems, so they aren't allowed to be made anymore in most places (not sure where you live). If you choose to have the tooth extracted rather than the canal and crown, and if it is in the middle of other teeth, you can have a bridge made - a false tooth that is a unit of three or more teeth; however, the tooth on each side must be made into crowns that will hold the false tooth in place.
A bridge means two crowns instead of one, is more expensive, and not a good idea if the other two teeth are healthy, since they will have to be reduced severely and you may need root canals on them too.
The only other option is to get the tooth extracted, then get an implant. This option is also very expensive and will depend a lot on the health of your gums and underlying bone structure. Your choice should depend on the overall health of your mouth, where the tooth is located, and your dentist's recommendation.
Talk to another dentist is you want verification of your options--root canals and crowns are expensive. But don't go the cheapest way just because of money; it may cause you much more money, not to mention pain, and problems down the road.
It is too late to prevent something from happening, it has already happened; you must now choose how to deal with the problem, and remember--a band-aid cure will be temporary. One last thing, certain teeth are vital if you ever need false teeth later in life, like the bottom front teeth. Hang on to them at all costs.
Several yeas ago I had a root canal and the dentist said a piece of the wire from the device used broke off down in the root. The dentist said it could not be removed. I've since asked a different dentist and he said it's common for it to happen. Has this happend to you and have you had any discomfort from it?
By weinerdog41 from Ft. Worth, TX
