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Original poster

Can anyone give me an idea what will happen if one of my molar teeth is no longer saveable?

27 replies

Yumyi · 10/08/2023 16:00

I had root canal on a tooth about 10 years ago. I have since switched dentist and the new dentist is saying it looks like possible decay on the X-ray. He could try and repair but may not be possible.

I am feeling kind of scared about this. He has spoken also about putting a crown on which could make it last longer. But would I better to just take it out? But what happens then? A gap? A bridge? An implant?

has anyone else been through this?

OP posts:
PangramAddict · 10/08/2023 16:05

I am going through this at the moment.
It will cost me the better part of £1000 to even attempt retreating the root canal. Given there is no guarantee it will work, plus a visible crack in the tooth I'm going to wait until it's too sore then have it extracted. I may see how I feel after but put the money towards an implant or denture. My dentist said there isn't really a "good" option, it's just choose a path at the time and deal with what happens.
It's so expensive to attempt a re-treat that may not even be successful, I'd rather put the money towards implant or bridge etc

RatherBeRiding · 10/08/2023 16:08

I had a beyond repair molar taken out a few years ago after repeated abcesses which my (then) NHS dentist kept missing/brushing off. In agony and fed up with waiting weeks for an NHS 'emergency appointment' I switched to a private dentist who saw me within 24 hours, removed old filling, told me tooth cracked and unlikely to survive a repair, removed next day! Bliss. I was offered the option of an implant but as it was so damned expensive I decided to see how i'd manage with a gap, which isn't visible when speaking. Just fine, it turned out. Eating on that side took a bit of getting used to, but honestly I don't really notice now that there's a gap.

Original poster
Yumyi · 10/08/2023 16:14

I mentioned to a friend the other day I could maybe leave a gap and she said won’t it change the shape of your face on that side? She has no experience herself though so it’s just a hunch she hear somewhere else. But you haven’t found that @ratherberiding ? I quite like the idea of a gap as I assume implant or bridge requires a certain amount of maintenance?

OP posts:
HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 10/08/2023 16:14

I’m going through this at the moment and am waiting for an extraction appt. Nobody has mentioned about a bridge, etc. I am assuming I’ll just have a gap after.

Original poster
Yumyi · 10/08/2023 16:15

I must also say I am not in pain at all. It feels fine. It’s just a shadow the dentist has seen on the X-ray. So I am kind of reluctant to do anything hasty when it’s doing ok for me just now

OP posts:
HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 10/08/2023 16:15

I asked the dentist about it changing the shape of my face and she said with just one being removed it’ll be ok. 🤷‍♀️. I have a friend who had a molar tooth removed years ago and her face looks ok.

PinkFootstool · 10/08/2023 16:16

I've had several molars out rather than tolerate a root canal.... I have gaps, and have no issues with them. No pain, no upkeep, no ongoing costs. Nothing gets stuck there, it doesn't affect anything I eat at all.

The only teeth I'm concerned about saving are my front ones.

Swimbius · 10/08/2023 16:18

I cracked a tooth in lockdown and by the time I could get to a dentist I was in pain and was told the root canal plus crown had a low guarantee of success so I went for the extraction. I could have had a bridge but haven't bothered. It's not visible in day to day life.

The extraction was difficult though, more so than my wisdom teeth and it turned out my tooth had 3 roots and 6 canals (the dentist was quite excited about this) so glad I didn't opt for root canal.

PinkFootstool · 10/08/2023 16:18

A single molar being removed is unlikely to change your face shape or structure.

Reggiebo · 10/08/2023 16:18

I'm with you pink footstool....I had 5 extractions in one go. ..it's much easier to look after them ..I have all my front teeth .just missing some at the back.

RatherBeRiding · 10/08/2023 16:20

My partner has top and bottom molars missing on one side - so upper and lower gaps! Cannot tell at all - no change in face shape, and he eats just fine.

purplecorkheart · 10/08/2023 16:22

I have had similar. Dentist advised that a root canal or crown would not be a permanent solution and that I would eventually have to get it extracted so I went straight to extraction. I have a gap. It hasn't changed the shape of my face or anything.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 10/08/2023 16:23

I had my lower back molar out just under a year ago after it cracked right down the middle down to the root (it had previously been filled, years before).

I have left it as a gap. It's not visible because it's at the back. It hasn't made any difference to the shape of my face at all. The recovery from the extraction was not nice, but once it was fully healed it was totally fine - just like a slightly longer expanse of smooth gum than there is behind my other lower back molar on the other side.

PensionPuzzle · 10/08/2023 16:25

I had the very back normal molar out a couple of years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. It was pretty broken by that point and the dentist wasn't sure if he'd be able to get it out in the chair (mentioned dental hospital...) But he did, and it was no bother at all. The worst bit was the tickly bit of paper he put in for the x-ray 😂

Make sure they are generous with the local anaesthetic and I'm sure you'll be grand. It's given the wisdom tooth that side a bit more room too, I can easily see that it's actually moved into the gap a bit. I wouldn't hesitate to have another molar out rather than messing about, I'll save any fuss for the front ones 🙂

Gettingbysomehow · 10/08/2023 16:31

I have 4 molar implants, prior to the implants my face didn't change in appearance one bit.
If it is the last one at the back they won't do anything, apparently implants tend to fail there as it's difficult to clean properly so they just leave a gap which is not noticeable.

FourTeaFallOut · 10/08/2023 16:32

I had my back molar tooth removed and over the next few years my un-erupted wisdom tooth moved forward and has emerged largely in its place.

QuestionableMouse · 10/08/2023 16:34

Tooth extraction is fine. I've just had three wisdom teeth out and while it wasn't a fun experience (minus waiting two hours past my appointment time!) it was really not that bad.

QueefQueen80s · 10/08/2023 16:37

I didn't know it changed shape of face? Why would it? Jaw still there

QueefQueen80s · 10/08/2023 16:38

I've got a few missing top and bottom, not noticed a change

Harrythehappypig · 10/08/2023 16:38

I had an implant last year. I did it as I thought a gap would inconvenient but actually by the time everything was sorted for the implant I was finding I could eat etc without really noticing there was a gap.

HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 10/08/2023 16:39

QueefQueen80s · 10/08/2023 16:37

I didn't know it changed shape of face? Why would it? Jaw still there

Jaw bone can wear down once a tooth is gone I think plus the actual teeth give structure to the cheeks.

ToughFuss · 10/08/2023 16:39

I literally had one of my molars taken out this week, and it was fine. The run up to finally getting the appointment to having it pulled was hideous, I got a terrible infection in my jaw and it swelled up massively etc, v painful.
Anyway, my appointment was at 2pm and I’d text my husband to collect me (unnecessary as it happened, I definitely could’ve just drove myself!) by 2:09pm. I think it surprised the dentist too so I guess it’s not always that quick but yea. I’d expected it to be tougher because it was pretty broken up, had a large filling etc.
I am leaving it as a gap. It isn’t noticeable, it hasn’t changed my face shape yet and I doubt very much there’ll be any change in the future. I’ve followed the aftercare to the letter to avoid dry socket, so far so good!

Ohmylovejune · 10/08/2023 16:40

Do you have to keep that tooth? I lost the very back molars top and bottom when I was in my 20s because they had no room to grow and were impacted on the tooth in front . So they were all removed under GA in hospital (1990s).

54isanopendoor · 10/08/2023 16:40

My upper right (next to) back molar became infected during lockdown.
Due to nightmare with NHS dentist who then snapped it when trying to extract.
I developed an abcess which went into my jawbone. Ended up in hospital.
Now have a gap. It doesnt show. I tend to eat on my left side which isn't good.
But I don't have 1K for an implant so that's that.
Better out than in!

Marchbug · 10/08/2023 16:41

I've got a gap. Was horrified at the thought but couldn't afford another option and after a failed root canal and emergency fix would've happily had my head removed to stop the pain. TBH it's not been the absolute end of the world I envisaged and it's completely unnoticeable