root canal v. extraction/implant ???

alafairnadia

so. I have never had a cavity in my life. but, because I apparently grind my teeth, I have damage to a molar. a dentist I saw yesterday told me that the only solution was a root canal. okay. what do I know?
my mom says she's had root canals fail, that they're painful, and they're a pain in the ass because they take so many follow up visits to complete. she recommended getting the tooth extracted and replaced with a porcelain implant. okay. what do I know?

well, I know that I need to be on a plane next thursday, I just started a new job so I can't take tons of time off, this awful thing is not going away and it hurts, and it's making my ears and everything else hurt. and I'm convinced this infection is going to eat my brain b/c the dentist didn't give me a prescription. also, the root canal specialists the dentist rec'd aren't answering their phones. blargh. anyone have experience with this? any thoughts? wah.

pitu

Don't use your mom as your dentist.

One summer day coming back from the beach I was in throbbing agony. Guzzling ambasol outside the neerguard on 5th Ave -- it was not pretty.
I had a root canal followed by a post and core (I think) that was totally no big deal. I was expecting death, and then . . . no problem. I even liked the oral surgeon. Weird but true. He was in the clock tower, so no clue where he is now. But he was young - want me to call my dentist and get the rec again?

opossumqueen

My fella lost some teeth in an accident over 10 years ago and has fakes screwed in their places. He basically has no trouble from them and these were done a very long time ago. One of them he can pop out (not supposed to be able to) but only when he takes it out on purpose to say, eat a big meal.

Surely what you could get now (and at a *good* place) would be a good option.

Is that an option most dentists will go for? "Eh, no root canal for me, just get rid of it and put another in it's place."

pitu

btw, I didn't have a bunch of followup visits.
I think there were two visits total, but it was five or so years ago so I don't remember exactly. Maybe I had one more visit with the regular dentist after that.
Anyway, it is going to be SO much better once you have the work done.

stacey

Well since I have the worst teeth ever and spend ever extra $ I have on trying to fix them up - I will tell you I have had quite a few root canals and I am in the process of getting my implant finished. Root canals usually take 2-3 visits and the core and crown can be put on immediately. It really is not very painful to get done - little more uncomfortable than a filling. Unfortunately the best root canal guy I ever went to was in the Williamsburg Savings bank and I have now lost contact with him

I will say that you should go to a reputable dentist. Some of these little fly by night places ALWAYS say you need a root canal when it could just be a filling.

Now the following is my experience with the implant but bear in mind that this work was all being done by the NYU dental school which, while very good, takes forever -
When it came to my implant - I had the tooth removed and then I needed to have a bone graft put in for the implant. I was told it takes a couple months for the graft to take hold and then the implant will go in. It is now a year later and when I went back to have the implant put in they did an x-ray and said "oh you have a little bubble in there - before we can go forward we need to have an MRI to make sure everything is ok." So I am still toothless and now I have run out of $ to get it finished. Looking back I really should have just had a bridge done and be done with it.

I hope you feel better

alafairnadia

thanks for all of your advice, everyone. I got an appointment with the root canal people for this monday. my dentist was recommended to me by my boss, who is awesome, and she says he is great (she's had a few root canals that he's been involved with). he was very nice to me and worked me in on very short notice. I also saw a very poorly dressed male fashion designer there - whose sideline involves being a judge on a certain show we all know and love - so the dentist is obviously sought after. and he's covered, as are the root canal folks he sent me to, by my new insurance.

I'm still freaked out but looking forward to stopping this absurd 3-advil every 4 hours habit that also includes a few shots of vodka at night because the pain is unbelievable. not to mention getting rid of the jowl/lump on one side of my face. and wow - pain is MASSIVELY exhausting.

(though mouth pain has been a great excuse to eat raw oysters as a good source of protein ...)

pitu

wait, Michael Kors goes to teh dentist in less than luxe?

lilbangladesh

You're able to chew oysters? :shock:

Look, I can empathize. I had my wisdom teeth removed right before Passover over 15 years ago. I ended up subsisting on gefilte fish and yogurt because those were the only kosher foods I could eat.

To this day, I can't even look at gefilte fish without nausea. And I used to love gefilte fish.

alafairnadia

oof! turns out the tooth is cracked and needs to be extracted. moot point!

shishkab

don't worry Alafair...

will the extraction/root canal hurt? yeah, a bit. but i PROMISE that the pain you feel during recovery will be nothing compared to what you've been suffering.

plus, recovery pain is finite. it goes away. the pain you've been experiencing has been chronic with no end in sight. believe me, it's the obvious choice.

you'll be feeling better very soon....

{{{{hugs}}}}