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!

Personally I have always avoided bridges. One failed root canal is now an implant. None of it need be painful if you have a skilled dentist.

Camprevan she's not hugely happy - she's happy about doing the canals, but not sure if she can cement the tooth enough with the filling as it's part-broken! that's the main dilemma. If it was a strong tooth, I would be still much more sure about doing the canals.

"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,"
Dentists usually say that the foot on the chair thing is an 'urban myth'.

A broken tooth isn't worth the investment. I agree with PP, pull the tooth and put the money towards an implant.

I've just had a root canal. I had half of it done one week and was returning for the second part one week later and in the meantime my tooth broke.

So now I have to have it taken out and I'm probably going to have an implant which is going to cost £3000.

GentlemanJay why awful during the hygiene app? I thought onc the nerves aer killed you lose sensitivity?

I can afford the 3K for an implant now - and also that's a dreadful procedure with the bone grafting etc! This tooth is just out of sight so appearance not an issue. I have paid attention to the downsides or not having a tooth from PP, but still sounds better than bridges - well, at least be without a tooth for a while and see what to do later.

Sorry, I CAN'T afford.

MissConductUSA that's my main dilemma, but do you think a good/honest dentist would even attempt the root canal if she thought that broken tooth was a high risk? I'm not very clear how optimistic she is really.

I have had two extractions over root canals, possibly pregnancies to blame as I had no trouble prior and they do say it ruins your teeth! I decided on extractions as the expense and fear was too much for me with root canals. They were over quickly and didn’t hurt. I took pain relief a few days after and all was well. Some dentists will offer you sedation also if you are very anxious, from a tablet the night before to a drink to iv sedation if you need the hard stuff! I did the drink one but didn’t find it made a huge difference so didn’t bother the next time. I think it’s the sounds that are most unpleasant but I didn’t have pain. I never once regretted it as they are back teeth and eventually I will get implants in.

Dentists are trained to "save the tooth" if at all possible. That said, if she informed you that it was chancy, and left the decision up to you, she's absolved herself of responsibility for the consequences. And made a tidy fee at the same time.

I've had loads of dental work, including a full prosthodontic reconstruction. I bake brownies for the staff if I'm having a lot of work done. So my dental specialists give it to me straight, as I'm a long term patient. A root canal specialist seeing you for the first time is more likely to shade it to her advantage.

Getting an implant isn't bad at all. When they pull the tooth, the use a bone paste to fill the space where the roots were, then cover it. It takes three months for the natural bone to integrate with the paste, then you can have the implant. It's nothing.

I had a root canal about 18 months ago, it didn't hurt due to the local anaesthetic, and I've had no problems since 🤞

Hi OP I’m a dentist. We are faced with this sort of situation daily ( for many reasons). I have 36 yrs experience and there really isn’t a right answer. If the specialist endodontist has reservations about whether the tooth can be restored after root treatment then I would have it extracted. After root filling it is essential that the canals and tooth are sealed by a filling or restoration so that the root filling doesn’t leak. If it leaks you are back to square one and will need retreatment. The chances of success with retreatment are low.
Extractions are generally straightforward when teeth have large holes. It’s often easy to separate the roots so you can remove them individually. Sounds complicated but as a dentist it makes the job much easier.
Root canal work takes time. You will have to have a rubber dam fitted and it may involve a number of visits. You may experience post op sim or infection and it may not work.
Extraction can have complications but once the tooth has gone the problem has too.
I fractured a tooth a number of years ago. It developed an abscess over the weekend. The pain was awful. Fortunately I have access to local anaesthetic so I kept it numb for 24hrs until I could get a colleague to extract it. I ran out of the local overnight and drive into work at 3am to get supplies. I had a small baby at the time so losing sleep to a tooth was not an option. Nor was waiting a week for antibiotics to sort it out.
As I said if the specialist is not keen then I would have it extracted.

Sim? Pain

I've had root canals that lasted for years. The key is how much tooth structure is left afterward. Too little, and the tooth will eventually crack or break and have to be removed. If the tooth is already cracked, it's a lost cause in terms of any type of long term solution.

I've had three back teeth out in my life. Honestly, despite my terror, they were fine. Two aren't noticeable, but I'm quite conscious of one and am debating an implant. I have never had a root canal and genuinely would choose extraction if I had a choice of either!

I've had 2 broken teeth at different times. Upper 2nd premolar opted for extraction and then a decade later lower first molar (on the other side) dentist recommended root canal and crown. Root canal/crown took bloody ages (4 sessions, up to an hour each) and I really hated it. Wouldn't do it again if I can avoid it.

I got my root canal done privately by a specialist. Didn’t feel a thing despite all the warnings. I think it’s going to go soon. It’s been about 12 years.

And they did it brilliantly. Even the hygienists can’t tell. I have to point them out and they don’t believe me. They are porcelain composite.

I am in an almost exactly the same predicament at the moment. My second from back tooth has been filled several times and last time they filled it they said it should be fine and last year said wait until it hurts before we do root canal. It doesn't hurt still but they've now said it's too late to save so just pull it out. A specialist has said he could save it (I had to pay £55 for a consultation for him to tell me he could!) and he said it would he £700 for the root canal plus £600 for a crown on top. So £1300 total. And it could fail within 6 months or could last up to 10 years. Also never had a tooth out so unsure what to do but I feel quite emotional about having one missing!

Having had both, and both in molars, in my view the extraction was more traumatic. My root canal wasn’t exactly pleasant, with seemingly endless drilling, but plenty of anaesthetic meant it wasn’t painful. The tooth was crowned after it was drilled out and has given me no problems since.
The extraction was fairly brutal, and my face felt like I had been punched by Tyson Fury for days afterwards, with bone fragments coming out of the socket. Not fun.

If you can keep the tooth I would. There's different kind of dams now that don't cover your whole mouth- also if they are using that one they can cut a bit of it so you it's not covering your nose. You could take headphones and Listen to a podcast/music.

If you have it out you could get an immediate denture made so you wouldn't have a gap while you're waiting for the bridge?

I had a tooth break next to the one that was extracted. The dentist said that it was because too much pressure was going onto the one that got broken. So she recommended an implant. Yes it was pricey, but far more controlled and less traumatic than root canal.

Having an implant doesn't have to be horrendous. I had a tooth extracted and opted for an implant rather than a bridge, because I didn't want to damage other teeth with a bridge.

None of it was particularly painful - I had light sedation and lots of numbing, but although they gave me painkillers for after the extraction and the implant fitting, I didn't need them. The most annoying bit was all the waiting between stages. It was bloody expensive but this was all about 7 years ago and I've never had any bother with it since.

I've just had a tooth removed that had root canal treatment 10 years ago. I'm glad I had the root canal treatment and kept the tooth another 10 years.
Having it removed was uncomfortable more than painful, as was the next couple of days and it seems absolutely fine now.

rebbles yes, it's just scary losing a tooth for the first time especially not the back one but one of the main 'chewing' teeth on the side. Do you think you'll go fr the root canal? the fat that it was filled several times, sounds like it's weak, so it's kind if similar to my situation where it's part-broken / large cavity.
I really can't decide so far - I now want another chat with the specialist asking what is the real chance of it lasting - but if I had a crown on top it would be 2K! so yours is not a bad price compared to this, but still, it hurts paying so much for one tooth!
I also have a few fillings booked on other teeth. Ugh! I always had good teeth overall, a few simple fillings that's all - what the heck has happened? I did have a stressful year last year and didn't see a dentist. And it's probably age.

SoGladofyou what did they do about the brojen tooth?

noodle well it's great that this was a one-pff priblem, at least you feel like you've paid a fortune but spent nohing for years since! I still have a few fillings to come and possibly the tooth next t this one a problem. It's just overwhelming. If I spend on the canal and then have to extract anyway - that's TWO unpleasant procedures and money wasted on the canal.