not a good evening

[dan86]

went to dentist. turns out my lower molar is ****ed and I need root canal treatment on it
had root canal treatment before many years ago. emergency appointment on a Sunday morning, then had to go in in the Monday and have it extracted anyway.
it didn't tickle.
my options are to 'try' and save the tooth with treatment finishing off with a crown, or have it extracted.
wouldn't mind, but the one I had extracted years ago is right beside it and I would have a massive gap
dunno what to choose to have done.

 

[RyanCheetham]

Gripfill it lol

 

[Tuttle]

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago, I really don't like going to the dentist, the anaesthetic never seems to work that well on me.

The dentist said I could be sedated, I went for that and it was brilliant. I think they stuck a drip or something in my hand. It doesn't knock you out, it just makes you nice and chilled, and a bit out of it, which also makes the local anaesthetic work better. He was drilling my teeth for a couple of hours, time seemed to go by very quickly though and I didn't mind at all.

The only down side was the price.

 

[Marvo]

Lol, can't help you with the decision but I had to visit a dentist in central Africa a few yearsago, they didn't have any injectable anesthetic, instead they had some locally grown smokable painkiller they gave you in a pipe. They also had a drill that had the old flexible arms with belts and pulley wheels. Needless to say I usually schedule a dentist visit at home now before I go work on contract.

 

[DL electrician]

If they extract can they then bridge it?

Root canal gets costly and no guarantee for the future I the tooth....may as well spend the money on an implant!

 

[kingeri]

Teeth are overrated anyway.

 

[Tridentsystems]

Remove and fill with hager blanks

 

[dan86]

it sure does get costly, but isn't the money putting me off.its the process of actually having it done.
if I get a silver crown, it's bout £130
If I want a white one, its about £400!
also, as has been said, isn't guaranteed.
may still have to get the bugger extracted anyway

 

[Richard Burns]

I have one tooth that was falling apart and tried to have it filled but it was too deep and was root treated (not so bad) The filling and the tooth are now falling apart but painlessly and I will have it extracted once it has mostly fallen away, but it has avoided extraction for two years now.
But do not spend too much on trying to save it.

 

[dan86]

well I've taken a week off work starting today and I have the dreaded dentist appt today at 4.10. not sure what I should do. help me decide?!

 

[Silly Sausage]

well I've taken a week off work starting today and I have the dreaded dentist appt today at 4.10. not sure what I should do. help me decide?!

I'd start drinking...NOW!

 

[shagbite]

only you know if it's worth saving. discuss it with your dentist - he should give you the best advice.

years ago, i got into a scrap on a night out and when i woke up the next day i realised one of my molars had cracked in half - one half was loose and the other half was ok, so i pulled out the loose bit and booked an appointment with my dentist. he cleaned up the area and fitted a gold inlay (you can't see it - it's at the back). anyway, i have to say, the bit of tooth that remained has held up pretty well - no problems at all really (although it never affected the root). this was about 15 or 20 years ago.

after about 7 years, i asked the dentist if i could have the inlay changed - the first one never sat quite right. thing is, he charged me the full whack again, and when i told him i wanted the old one back, he looked at me like i'd just nicked his bike. he jokingly told me that each year they weigh-in all the gold teeth that they've extracted and it pays for their christmas do. so i told him he'd have to make do with the babycham this year, instead of the dom perignon. then he told me that they're only worth about 5 quid anyway - so the mark-up on them must be about 4000%. now that's the business to be in.

 

[Richard Burns]

If the molar is shot and must have root canal treatment to stop the pain then there is little point in spending £300 on root treatment and £400 on a crown when the tooth has no structural integrity.
You could have the root canal work done and leave it for a while; at least it would not hurt (afterwards), but may be unsuitable for biting on.
You could have a direct extraction and be done with the lot, the large gap is something many people have to manage, it is a nuisance but not insurmountable and you would likely learn quickly how to manage the gap.

I do not like extractions so I went for the root canal, but I should probably have "bitten" the bullet and had the extraction.

See what your dentist advises and weigh up the cost vs the inconvenience.

 

[dan86]

thanks for the replies guys. my main concern is because I have already had an extraction right beside it and I'm worried the big gap might make it difficult to eat and put undue pressure on the other side because that's where I'll have to do most of my chewing!
my dentist will prob just tell me to go ahead with treatment as she is there to get money outa me at the end of the day.

 

[Silly Sausage]

As already said, only you can decide.

I've two missing molars top left, got rid of the second one because of the huge expense and the possibilty the repair would fail.

You just get used to it.