A tooth question.

root canal on your 2nd last molar or pull it?

  • Root Canal

    Votes: 15 75.0%
  • Get it pulled.

    Votes: 5 25.0%

  • Total voters
    20

UkuLeLesReggAe

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Where there's me, there's dramas. Unfortunately, this ones in my mouth....

Top right, 2nd last tooth, the molar. I'm not sure what to do.... Let me know, personal experiences would be perfect, money isn't that much of an issue, it's money...

but anyway... Let me know, I really don't want to get rid orf my tooth, I have my wisdom tooth coming through...

the dentist, was hopeless, didn't give me any advice, I asked 100 questions and got 0 answers, well... I got a piece of paper he wrote down about root canal, and a presciption..
 
Did the dentist say you had an abscess? I'm wondering why he recommended a root canal, and I'm assuming this is why (I'm also assuming the prescription was for an antibiotic). This is nothing to mess around with - it will only get worse, and the infection can spread to all kinds of places you don't want it. Like your brain.

If you need a root canal, it's better to do it sooner rather than later. If you wait until it's an emergency, the fluids from the infection can actually cancel out the anesthesia - you'll still need a root canal, only it will have the added bonus of being painful!

Root canals hurt the bank account far more than anything else. They aren't fun, but they are no big deal. So, get it over with!
 
sorry I should have been more clear... ha ha.

Yes there is an abscess, it's only formed around the edge of the tooth for now, I'm probably going to get it done on Thursday.... isn't there a high chance for root canal to fail anyway and u have to get it pulled? recommended root canal because it's $850 more I guess... he didn't recommend it though, he didn't recommend anything, he was pathetic, but he suggested it. It's a possibility.
 
sorry I should have been more clear... ha ha.

Yes there is an abscess, it's only formed around the edge of the tooth for now, I'm probably going to get it done on Thursday.... isn't there a high chance for root canal to fail anyway and u have to get it pulled? recommended root canal because it's $850 more I guess... he didn't recommend it though, he didn't recommend anything, he was pathetic, but he suggested it. It's a possibility.

If you get it pulled, you'll have to replace it with an implant, which in the US costs a couple thousand dollars.

I've had eleven root canals - yeah, eleven. Two of them failed, but technology is better now and I had each of them re-done and the endodonist was able to fix what went wrong the first time (in both cases it was an extra root that the first dentist didn't see).

Eleven root canals... sigh... and each one more than the cost of a nice Kamaka...
 
I've had a root canal, and despite all the horror stories you hear, it wasn't much different than just going to the dentist for a regular filling. I had no major pain etc. etc. I think dentistry has improved lots in the last few decades. If money is no object, save the tooth.
 
e-leven?!?!?!?!

how is this prevented? I brush my teeth twice a day!!!... I don't understand... .. could i get it pulled then get braces? I'm getting them anyway....
I need so much information, and I didn't get it... and now I can't see another dentist for another 3 weeks!!! 3 weeks of this pain!
do abscess' kill you? for some reason, I'm picturing them cutting into my jaw an altaring the shape of my face etc......

honestly, he charged me $120, and I know less then what I did when I walked in.....

I wanted to get my front 6 teeth fitted with veneers and he refused to talk to me about that,. and aligning (sp) my teeth.... -.-
 
WOW, that sounds like a LOT of dental work and much of it cosmetic.

It may be better if you see a dentist that specialises in that type of work.
 
Then see another dentist. This one doesn't sound really competent.

although it isn't like seeing a doctor, where you can get seen that day, worst case, the next day...

Some dentist have a 1month waiting period. this guy let me in the next day, and I can now see why. I have to wait 2 weeks to see another detist now.. I might get it pulled, then get braces and pull across the wisdom tooth.


in theory, it sounds good. :)
 
I would save the tooth since you have a choice. Even if it's more expensive, it's worth it. Keep as many teeth as you can while you're young! And as Jane said, the technology is pretty good now and most root canals are successful.
 
I brush my teeth twice a day!!!

To be honest, I think flossing is more important than brushing. I brush once a day before bed (sometimes in the morning after a heavy night out) but I floss after every meal.

could i get it pulled then get braces? I'm getting them anyway....

Speaking from experience (over three years with the f*ing things), it's a long and painful journey to move a tooth that distance with braces. The other problem with having a tooth pulled is, well, imagine each tooth is plugged into a socket in your jaw. When a tooth is pulled, its socket remains, but it squashes down as the other teeth shuffle about. Think about that - your skull/jaw is changing shape, and your face with it. Just look at any old person with dentures :) This is also one good reason in favour of implants.

I wanted to get my front 6 teeth fitted with veneers and he refused to talk to me about that,. and aligning (sp) my teeth.... -.-

By the sounds of it you need a second opinion, and going by what you've said I wouldn't bother with this dentist any longer if I were you. Go and see an Orthodontist, they specialise in the kind of work you're after, and they are what dentists want to be when they grow up. They may cost more, but you get what you pay for.

Now, as to your original question, in your position I would go for the root canal.

I've had my back top molars pulled, because one was crumbling apart and the other one could have been saved, but would have been very costly. Getting them pulled was a no-brainer for me as my top wisdoms are coming in straight and will naturally slot in where the molars were. Because your case is the second molar, that's a tooth worth saving in my opinion. You chew with your molars, and a big gap between your first and third molars, or pre-molars and back molars depending on your teeth, would be weird (think: food vs your exposed gum)

Have you had an x-ray? Do you know how your wisdoms are coming in? If not, I seriously recommend it. For interest's sake, here's an xray of mine from about 7 years ago, before I had my molars pulled. You can see that three of my wisdoms are good, one is going to impact (*sigh*), and you can also see the metal-work (pins in my false tooth and a post-braces wire). Having this x-ray has helped to guide my dental decisions, I'm saving up now to get the false tooth replaced with an implant :)

teethxray2.jpg
 
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To be honest, I think flossing is more important than brushing. I brush once a day before bed (sometimes in the morning after a heavy night out) but I floss after every meal.



Speaking from experience (over three years with the f*ing things), it's a long and painful journey to move a tooth that distance with braces. The other problem with having a tooth pulled is, well, imagine each tooth is plugged into a socket in your jaw. When a tooth is pulled, its socket remains, but it squashes down as the other teeth shuffle about. Think about that - your skull/jaw is changing shape, and your face with it. Just look at any old person with dentures :) This is also one good reason in favour of implants.



By the sounds of it you need a second opinion, and going by what you've said I wouldn't bother with this dentist any longer if I were you. Go and see an Orthodontist, they specialise in the kind of work you're after, and they are what dentists want to be when they grow up. They may cost more, but you get what you pay for.

Now, as to your original question, in your position I would go for the root canal.

I've had my back top molars pulled, because one was crumbling apart and the other one could have been saved, but would have been very costly. Getting them pulled was a no-brainer for me as my top wisdoms are coming in straight and will naturally slot in where the molars were. Because your case is the second molar, that's a tooth worth saving in my opinion. You chew with your molars, and a big gap between your first and third molars, or pre-molars and back molars depending on your teeth, would be weird (think: food vs your exposed gum)

Have you had an x-ray? Do you know how your wisdoms are coming in? If not, I seriously recommend it. For interest's sake, here's an xray of mine from about 7 years ago, before I had my molars pulled. You can see that three of my wisdoms are good, one is going to impact (*sigh*), and you can also see the metal-work (pins in my false tooth and a post-braces wire). Having this x-ray has helped to guide my dental decisions, I'm saving up now to get the false tooth replaced with an implant :)

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well my wisdom teeth are coming in perfectly fine. which is why I thought (logically) they could pull the tooth across. I'm not concerned about how long it'll take or the pain, because it's worth it, if he says it's possible, then possible it will be!

I've had an xray for that one tooth. your xrya is pretty cool, i didnt have an xray like that... i don't want any "fake teeth" to say... I want my teeth to be good from now on. my bottom teeth are perfect except for one at the back, needs a filling. but the rest are perfect aligned and everything.

gonig to dentist in 8 days. will find out i guess :S
 
well my wisdom teeth are coming in perfectly fine. which is why I thought (logically) they could pull the tooth across. I'm not concerned about how long it'll take or the pain, because it's worth it, if he says it's possible, then possible it will be!

Great to hear they're coming in right :) But your dentist sounds like an idiot. It's like me saying "it's possible you can be the next Houdini!" I mean, it's not 100% wrong, but at the same time it's spastic to say so. Really, to be honest, get the root canal and get it over and done with. Braces are a real arsehole, they're not something to be taken lightly. Again, I bring it back to the raw gum between your teeth as you chew... it'll feel weird, it'll hurt etc... If you can afford to save it, then save it I say :) It is possible to pull the tooth across with braces, but as I say, it's a long and painful undertaking, your'e messing up your jawbone at the same time etc etc... It's cheaper and faster in my view to just get the root canal done and dusted, then you'll have a decent platform on which your braces can work, and they'll get their job done cheaper and faster.

I've had an xray for that one tooth. your xrya is pretty cool, i didnt have an xray like that... i don't want any "fake teeth" to say... I want my teeth to be good from now on. my bottom teeth are perfect except for one at the back, needs a filling. but the rest are perfect aligned and everything.

Yeah, it's a full scan x-ray. They get you stand in a little booth while they wear lead jackets and all you can do is hold your coat over the family jewels. You bite on a bitey thing while the x-ray machine rotates around your head. Depending on where you get it in NZ it can cost anywhere between 70 bucks on the low side (where I got it done, well out of the city but a damn decent dentist regardless), up to a few hundred bucks. My fake tooth is a bit of a story - it's due to me not wearing a helmet as a kid... scooting around the bitumen driveway on a bike, dodgy cheap front brakes randomly locked... head over handlebars and faceplant. That was false tooth #1. A few months later, same bike, same spot of driveway, same tooth. False tooth #2 (Dad threw the bike over the fence, but ACC dealt with the costs). In retrospect my mother has said that she's amazed the dentist didn't think that they were beating the sh*t out of me. Anyway, that tooth was useless so one evening I was biting into a burger and the tooth popped off and went flying off to infinity and beyond. Then they put the pins in and secured it in... I had False tooth #3 for maybe 15 years, but it got grotty and stained from all the booze etc... So I've since had it removed and I'm on False tooth #4 :) You don't need to worry about it is the point :D
 
well if its going to change the shape of my face ,I'm not going to do it..... jawline altared = shape of your face altared right? no thanks.... will need to have root canal, I really want nice teeth (i do judge people on their teeth, well, not jduge, but generally nice teeth goes to show u like to take care of yourself right?) and it's the only thing i hate about myself, don't genetics suck sometimes!

So at 19 i'm getting root canal and will have dental issues for the rest of my life, I'm cool with that, when I finish my medical degree I can pay for them all to be ripped out and put back in. $9000 a tooth over here I believe to have drilled in....my teeth aren't tht bad, they need to have veneers placed in due to the chips over the years, but other then that they're fine...

for some reason this tooth seems like it's the end!!!

you're story is pretty cool (sort of?) because it's the same tooth, same bike same spot!!....

and I mean with the root canal, if all goes well, it's one less tooth i need to worry about dying.

how long does it take for you to finally breathe and say "it'll be fine now".

thanks everyone ! good input and I've thoguht about it a lot...
 
I've got a great dentist in Thailand and so cheap that it's worth the trip. Seriously!

You may joke (or not?), but South East Asia is actually starting quite a booming little dental tourism industry... there was a documentary here in NZ some time back where a number of people figured out it was cheaper to go on a holiday and get the dental work done over there, there's even an agency that organises the whole lot - travel, accommodation, appointments etc... Now, granted all of these people were probably from inner city Auckland which is a hugely expensive place. For example I catch a one hour train to see my dentist and I save a small fortune (example: see x-ray pricing above), a check and clean is NZD$35 or so vs Wellington city dentists who are more in the $85 region. I go to a whole other city 3 hours away for the rare Orthodontist visit, costs virtually nothing to get there, get charged about 40% less and he's one of the best in the country... go figure!

I can see the appeal of a Thai holiday though :)
 
when I was in thailand I seen countless amounts of aussies going over to thailand to get their teeth done and they looked perfectly fine!

Cost? it cost the same amount. HOWEVER> you get a free trip to thailand for 1 week. 2 people I met had 1 week paid holiday and all their teeth fixed, crowned etc, for the same price as it getting fixed in australia, but without the holiday, of course.

Worth it? I'd say no, I love thailand don't get me wrong, but they make you sign a waiver saying if something goes wrong you aren't covered....etc etc.... I'd rather have it done in Sydney, yeah, the waiting list is 5 months, but it's 5 months for a reason!
 
Just had dental surgery here in Oz: an implant - where a root canal tooth gave up the ghost after 15 years, and a bone implant where a tooth could not be implanted yet, until I have sufficient jawbone into which to impant. That tooth was a good one that got split through in a car accident last year. My dentist had hoped it could be saved by root canal - sent me to a specialist who told me absolutely certainly it could not be saved, it was too deeply cracked, and I had it extracted. My recommendation too is to get the best advice as to the current situation with your teeth. Get antibiotics to help get rid of the abscess. Find out if root canal can save the tooth or not. As others have said, root canal is not such a big deal, and can give a tooth a great future for a long time. Re cleaning teeth - the specialist gave me an education on exactly how to clean the teeth including toothbrush and floss daily. It's become like a religion - I want to hold on to all the teeth I can. Good luck with this situation - say goodye to that dentist if possible :)
 
WOW, that sounds like a LOT of dental work and much of it cosmetic.

It may be better if you see a dentist that specialises in that type of work.

I am with itsme on this one.. Get another dentist and another opinion. I wouldn't do that much work in my mouth without someone giving me answers about what is going on...
Pulling the tooth means all your teeth shifting and braces wont help without an implant.. because the teeth will shift with a space like that..
Best of luck to you.
 
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