Advice please root canal on tooth or remove and implant?

[Imdunfer]

Anyone got any advice? I'm waiting to see if my tooth goes painful again after finishing antibiotics on Monday morning, which the dentist thinks it will. He's 95% sure I will need a root canal filling or an extraction. He's only 75% confident that a root canal filling will work.

Would you just have it extracted and then go for an implant or try the root canal first?

If you knew how quickly you would need an implant would you still have had the root canal?

Do implants fail eventually? I haven’t heard much about that - I’ve for 2 and haven’t had any bother with them. Bone density around implant is checked by X-ray every year during routine check up

I had the most horrific toothache for a top back tooth it was not the furthest back tooth but second from the back …antibiotics didn’t clear it and the pain was horrific probably the worst I’ve ever experienced.
I was going to have a root canal done once the infection cleared but decided to have it removed as my dentist was not sure it would work.

I didn’t replace and didn’t bother with an implant and I have a gap but it’s barely noticeable best thing I did was getting the tooth out.

Having implants are not always easy and £££ in U.K. if it’s not visible then maybe don’t replace it if you can’t see it.

I didn’t need anaesthetic for RC a few months ago - the root / nerve is dead and I didn’t feel anything

Side note - why not just say colleague instead of assistant?

Which tooth is this OP?

I had two root canals and crowns done in 1976, that are still going strong, nary a problem with them since. If you can save your teeth, it’s worth a try, although I know the expense of dental treatment these days has to be a consideration.

Because she was my assistant. I suppose I could have called her my secretary if you'd prefer that? Or maybe comrade, tovarisch?

Top furthest back right side.

It isn't always dead, nobody's drilling that far into a tooth of mine without being 100% sure I'm not going to feel it!

Sometimes it is but in the 3 i had, i needed a lot of anaesthetic, they often have to drill under the gum line, rolling back the gum.

The prob with implants, is its the last line of defence to save the tooth, RC often lasts for many years, should it fail, there is always implants.

I suppose i really feel for people, the vast majority, who do not have the money for implants/RC or even an extraction.

My last 2 RC's plus a crown was over £3000, even if i had had them both extracted it would have been almost £500 inc the initial £100 new patient check up fee.

I am on Denplan and I can also afford an implant. If root canal is going to cost that kind of money outside Denplan then I'll just have the darned thing pulled out. I'm not spending that for a 1 in 4 failure rate and a potential short tooth life and future pain.

I had a root canal about 6 weeks ago. It was far from straight forward as I have a very narrow mouth, plus they could.only initially find 3 roots. I absolutely hate having anything done at the dentist but it was absolutely fine. Had to be done over 2 sessions of an hour each. Dentist was absolutely brilliant, went at my pace, let me have as many breaks as I needed (only 3 in the first session and 1 in the second one)

Jesus, two sessions? I also have a small mouth and I have arthritis in my left TMJ. I'm swinging towards removal!

Thanks for sharing, I hope you recover well and it lasts for life.

I’ve had an upper tooth and an upper wisdom tooth removed
the not wisdom tooth one is the second molar from the back and was taken out at least 12 years ago. No issues

If it’s at the back can you not just get it pulled?I did that with one of mine about two years ago and within a year there wasn’t even a gap left to show where the tooth had been.

I have one implant right at the front - tooth was broken in childhood, crowned...30 yrs later, the jaw started to absorb the root. (Very rare apparently.) Ergo, I had no other option.

Had a problem with another tooth this year. Same option as OP. Opted to try the root canal - involved having a very old treatment removed and replaced, followed by the crown. It's okay so far.

An implant is better than a regular false tooth, IMO, but I'd rather deal with a crown than faff about with the care of another implant.

I'm heading in that direction. I'm very unsure the cost, pain, potential for failure etc is going to be worth it.

Just to add that my Patient Plan insurance meant that I only paid for the crown. Can't remember the cost, but it was less than 300. The tooth is an upper molar.

Always try and save the existing tooth!

I was advised I needed a root canal. Saw a different dentist who said root canals are really if the tooth is dead, which mine wasn't, so he filled it. I sometimes wonder about dental work.

At 67, why? Serious question.

Well, I'm 65. I find looking after a regular crown less troublesome than looking after my implant.

My dentist has said the same to me. I’m having problems with a tooth and they said they might try a root canal and if that doesn’t work they’ll remove it but they said I won’t need an implant just for a single tooth gap.

Useful to know, thank you.