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Do I really need a root canal and crown?

So...This has nothing to do with admissions into dentistry school, however I thought I'd get more joy posting here than on 'Advice on Everyday Issues'

Basically around six months ago, I cracked a tooth while eating a piece of chocolate (M & M) and bits of my tooth came out. There is a hole in it. However out of sheer laziness I didn't do anything about it. I was however unable to chew on that side of my mouth.

A few months later, it started hurting, and from that moment I was unable to chew from the left side of my mouth. I still did nothing, lol because it didn't really give me that much pain.

However, about a month ago, it all came to an painful conclusion.. I had terrible earache, toothache, even eyeache! I could barely eat, and was in agony for parts of the day. I then finally went to the dentist, who said that I had an infection, a hole in my tooth and needed a root canal + crown coming to a sum total of £209. This was at the end of Feb (?) They gave me some anti-biotic and told me to come back on the 15th March. I didn't end up using the anti-biotics as it wasn't hurting that much.

I was initially wondering how the hell am I going to last till the 15th?!. However, strangely enough, my tooth no longer hurts, and I can even chew with my left side now which shocked me. The cost of the supposed treatment is what is making me question whether I really need it. Do I really need the root canal and crown? Couldn't a much cheaper filling do the job, since I'm literally in no pain at the moment which I can't quite believe.

Thanks for any help!

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

CD2112

Get it done asap and pay whatever the costs. Trust me I did a similar thing and chose to ignore an infected wisdom tooth and the pain was so excruciating that I was physically shaking and had to ring an emergency dentist at 10pm. It turned out that the infection was about a day away from beginning to close up my airway. You risk big problems down the line if you ignore it, not least the loss of your tooth when it is evident it can still be saved.

Reply 2

edwinemanuelposse

i stopped eating sugar for 7 years... i never visite the dentist any more after a life full with dentists visits , and now at the present day all my teeth stay stable,... in perfectly good condition and never one day pain,,, the nature of my teeth fixes itself without sugar consumption,,..... Never i take a crown, for me this is to artifical...my broken tooth that i have, is there for like 3 years no and is completely healthy...... nature restores itself.....unless u eat sugar thus... sugar is a teeth killer....

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 3

USRaphael

Are you seriously complaining about 209pounds for a root canal and crown? :s-smilie:

Reply 4

Cutmeloose

Original post by USRaphael

Are you seriously complaining about 209pounds for a root canal and crown? :s-smilie:

In the UK, healthcare is 'free', if I was American, maybe my notion of what was deemed as a good price would differ.

Reply 5

2ndClass

Definitely get it, you'll develop an abscess as the tooth continue to rot. If that gets too severe you'll need emergency surgery.

Reply 6

Lewk

You can't just not take the antibiotics... It's to get rid of the infection. The infection will remain without antibiotics and further worsen the condition of your tooth.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

River85

Original post by Cutmeloose

So...This has nothing to do with admissions into dentistry school, however I thought I'd get more joy posting here than on 'Advice on Everyday Issues'

Please don't do that. This forum is here for university-related discussion and not to get "free" advice from dentists or dental students (the latter of which have not even qualified yet). To post in dentistry means that it kicks one thread off the front page of the forum, a thread possibly made by someone who is in desperate need of university advice.

We do have a health forum, which is where I'll move this to.

Original post by edwinemanuelposse

i stopped eating sugar for 7 years...

That's not true. You eat sugar every single day. It will be in a wide variety of foods you eat. What about bread? Pasta? Fruit?

It is impossible to avoid eating sugar. It is present in our every day diets. Besides, it's not really the amount of sugar that's the problem for our teeth. It's how often we have that sugar. You can have a reasonably high intake of sugar but have little to no sign of tooth decay, providing you don't snack.

i never visite the dentist any more after a life full with dentists visits

Dentists don't just look for, and treat, decayed teeth. They also look for gum health (gum disease, receeded gums) and also check for signs of mouth cancer among other things.

Having a regular dental check up can literally save your life if the dentist is able to spot the early signs of cancer.

Reply 8

iJess

This thread worries me. I was in a similar situation a tooth was worn down and started to hurt a lot, I was on antibiotics (amoxicillin) for the infection. You NEED to take them to get rid of the infection at least. I was offered a root canal but the tooth got taken out instead as I had a wisdom tooth underneath it. It will be better in the long run to get it sorted otherwise you're just going to run in to more problems.