Root canal on side tooth or taking the tooth out - what's more traumatic?

[CatAndHisKit]

Sorry, long and boring but I need help deciding.
Just had a stressful news at the dentist's - my general dentist has referred me to the root canal specialist - that they can attempt the root canal treatment on the side tooth with the three nerves but they may not be able to do the filling to keep it.
It was damaged inside for a while - I did check it two yrs ago and the damage was mild and at that point no treatment needed so I thought now it's time to do the filling and was about to see hte dentist, but after biting on something hard, it got broken and turns out the cavity inside was really large, going down to te root, though it's more to one side of the tooth. So the endodontist is saying the filling may not have enough surface to stick to! In which case the tooth will need to be removed.
They gave me an eye-watering price - on top of the actual canal at 900 there is a large filling cost and a v.expebsive ct scan - it comes to about 1.4K! There is also a question wth the tooth next door that it needs a filling but the specialist says she suspects it may need root canal too - though if filling works it may not be for a while. So if I wet agead with the root canal I may beed to do the next one soon too and pay for it (but it's an 'if').

They said of course yo ucan the tooth out - it's JUST out of sight when smiling. But I've neer had a tooth out and being a central side tooth I dread to think how would I feel eating on that side. CAn do the bridge especially if the tooth next door also is a problem - and both to be removed.

But having never lost teeth I'm terrified of extravtions and also how would it feel afterwards without the bridge for a while and then with a bridge which I know can be unconfortable. I think cost-wise it will be cheaper for extraction and the minimal bridge but not hugely less if the bridge is for two teetth.

But the root canal is nearly 2hrs n the chair - I did one last year but that tooth wasn't broken and also she says this one has a curved canal unlike the previous root canal. It wasn't too bad aprocedurres as I went to the specialist that time but I hated the dam and toom a while to be able to start, and it was a bit unpleasant also towards the end. But it was astraight forward tooth and all done in one go, with staight canals.

How does the extraction compare in terms of discomfort and a few days afterwards? Fr the root she said up to 2hrs on the chair, but if the filling doesn;t work, still an extraction but with the nerves killed by then.

TIA!

Once the tooth is out, it will cause you no more trouble or expense

I had my second from back lower out. It was quite deep and they were not convinced the root canal would work as I have a complete fear of dentist I didnt want to have to go through that and then again to take out.

It felt odd at first but I don't even notice it now.

I had my tooth out. They said the root canal "might not work". I was in so much pain so I said "Take it....just take it". Half an hour or so later - bliss. Pain had gone. Had to be careful with food for a few days, gargle with salt water etc. I do often find myself poking my tongue in and out the gap 😂
The dentist gave me my tooth to keep. Tooth Fairy didn't come though so was a bit disappointed about that.

I’ve had root canal twice, twice each tooth got infected again and subsequently was pulled out. Wish I had just extracted them. The extraction is painless and over in about 10 mins. I felt some of the root canal work, plus they went on for such a long time.

So sorry for all the typos!

I hate the dentist, and I had one problem tooth that had a filling, then later a root canal that failed, followed by another root canal. They were really unpleasant but I could handle them.

When the second root canal failed, extraction was the only option, and honestly it was pretty horrendous - it didn’t actually hurt at the time, because of the numbing injection, but the dentist literally had her foot up on the chair pulling with all her might, and the tooth kept breaking into smaller and smaller pieces……once it was actually done, it was really sore and swollen and uncomfortable for a good 2 weeks - I thought it was infected but it wasn’t apparently.

But, if the tooth is that damaged already and was having to pay for it, I would take the extraction I think, rather than risk the root canal failing (which I would guess could be likely if the tooth is that rotten) and then having to pay again! luckily I was on maternity leave and still had free dentistry at the time.

It’s absolutely fine now, the gap feels normal now, and I don’t really notice it other than poking my tongue around in it. Eating on it is fine, though I don’t tend to bite hard stuff on that part of my mouth.

Oh wow, didn't expect immediate replies endorsing the extraction! Is it not hugely unpleasant even with the anaesthetic, when they have to pull it (it's not a wobbly tooth!)
But great to hear that afterwards it's easy to get used to - how is the biting / eating on that side? Is it soft food only?

Needmorelego the tooth fairy did come: look at your bank balance! The TF saved the cost of a root canal!

Root canal is really uncomfortable and doesn't always solve the problem. The tooth you are left with is discoloured and weak. I had it done but it was front tooth. If it had been a back one I would have had it removed and crowned

I mean bridge. Anyway the one that's cheaper than an implant

My dentist attempted root canal before giving up and going for extraction instead. Both with local anaesthetic. The extraction didn’t go so well either, but the root canal was infinitely more traumatic. I don’t remember the actual pain now but it was epic.

Needmore haha, if the tooth fairy not coming is your biggest disappointment, that has to be a good outcome!

I had a route canal fail after several years, my tooth had rotted away underneath. My options were to try it again, but it would likely need crowning aswell .... the dentist did tell me why but I cant remember! or pull the tooth. I chose to pull the tooth.

I had a root canal nearly 20 years ago, it's not given me any problems since, and I didn't find the procedure at all traumatic.

The most memorable thing about my root canal was just how long it took. I had three sittings and the middle one went on for over an hour. That is along time to be feeling distressed. I kept thinking surely we must be nearly done. I was quite distressed and it was uncomfortable, painful at times but the pain wasn't horrific.

I'm not sure if it has worked yet. I had a tooth abcess. I did then end up 6 months later with a gum abcess over that side of my mouth rather than a tooth abcess. That side of my mouth still seems more inflamed but it isn't really causing any issues at present and it has been a couple of years now. Whether it needs to come out in the future I don't know.

I hate the thought of having a tooth pulled out but I guess the thought of it might be worse than what it is like.

Not quite the same but I had a tooth at the bottom, very back, extracted as it had gone from a tiny crack to an infected disaster zone (I only went to the dentist because the tooth became painful, I'd studiously ignored it til then).

The dentist said it was borderline if he could do it or the hospital would need to, but he said he'd 'have a go'. And he got it out! It was an odd feeling but he was very careful to ensure I had more than enough local so it was an unpleasant sensation but no pain or anything like that. Recovery was a piece of cake as well, just plenty of salt baths and being sensible about eating for a couple of weeks.

The worst part for me was the little paper he put in to do the x-rays, it tickled my gag reflex which was very off-putting! But the extraction itself was fine and I'd not be worried if I end up needing another one. 15 minutes of 'this is a bit uncomfortable' solved the problem completely for me so was totally worth it. I've never had a root canal to compare with, though.

I've had multiple root canals and only one failure (root cracked 20yrs later and I needed an implant as it was a top incisor; now that was expensive). If the endodontist is sceptical then it's one thing, but a root canal should not be traumatic. All of mine went beautifully. Yes, you need to crown the tooth afterwards to protect it.

Do be aware that the downside of extraction is that if you opt for a bridge the adjacent teeth will be weakened to place it.

That's my fear - that they will be pulling it out with force as it's not wobbly, and because it's broken to one side, how would they be able to grip it properly? It may start crumbling like in @IceCream's case?

Turnleft was it at the genral dentist's or the specialist? I did do the previous root canal at the specialist (which I thought was so expensive at 600 - but it's twice as much here) - and their equipment is SO much better that it's much faster, and that's all they do all day so very different from the general dentist.

That's not true — even if you have an entirely straightforward extraction with no complications, it can sometimes cause problems later on. Without forces being transmitted through the tooth roots to that part of the jaw, you can get bone thinning in that area from lack of stimulation. And with the tooth absent, the teeth either side and opposite it can drift out of place, leading to tooth misalignment which can cause pain and other problems, though I guess a bridge could help with that (but bridges can damage surrounding teeth, and won't do anything about the bone loss). Both bone loss and movement of surrounding teeth could make it difficult to get an implant later if you decide you want to replace the tooth. It's also not great if you're consistently avoiding eating on one side of your mouth, because it's unbalanced.

DP has had a lot of dental work, and really regrets those times when, due either to lack of money or wanting the problem dealt with right now, he had a tooth extracted when he could have given them a chance to save it. Trying to save the tooth doesn't always work, but it's almost always better to have a tooth than no tooth, and getting implants later is very expensive and can be difficult.

If a specialist is happy to do it and thinks it has a good success rate get it done. It’s better for your jaw and the rest of your teeth not to lose a tooth.

@CordylineHair that's true - the cost of a root canal is absolutely crazy.
I had some complicated work done on another tooth some years ago but I got it for free because I had it done at the Dental College. Good way of saving money if the don't mind having a crowd of a dozen trainee dentists all staring into your mouth 😂

knitnerd well that's one of the issues - that the tooth next door needs a filling and might need a root canal later, so how to attach a bridge to it - have to wait and see what happenes with that tooth, or have both out and bigger bridge eventually - but it gets weakened as you suggest, that's another headache. And do you mean they need to be filed down to the sides, hence weakened - or is it the gradual pressure or the bridge? what happens if there is decay under the bridge later on, can they be treated without taking it off (probably not!)?

https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/faq/root-canal/

As the root canal quote is so high and the specialist doesn't seem to think it is likely to work, why has no one suggested extraction and an implant?

I had a good experience. No pain. Just my mouth open for an hour and a half. My wallet hurt more than anything else.

The hygienist appointment a few weeks later was bloody awful.