Root Canal or get tooth pulled?

[TinkTatoo]

Originally Posted by ILoveDaveLamb

... Jakki, I really hope you get your situation sorted to your satisfaction soon. You have my sympathy. xxx

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Thanks Rachel, just back from the dentist with another 5 days of stronger penicillin as there's still an infection around the tooth. Having looked at it again her advice was to pull the tooth, it's got a lot of filling and she doesn't think the risk of root canal would be worth it, she also feels that there's a good chance that the tooth could shatter when she removes it I'm going to wait a few weeks before getting anything done.

Hope your appointment goes OK xx

[derenstar]

I had my tooth pulled out yesterday morning. Two years ago I faced the same dilemma and chose the root canal plus crown option. First one failed but this was put down to the inexperience of the dentist that carried it out. A more experienced dentist took a crack at it. The root canal procedure itself was relatively straight forward, just lots of injections during and soreness afterwards for a few days. In November of last year, I started getting pain again in the tooth and an X-ray showed signs of infection. They offered a further root canal but I declined and asked for an extraction. I’m really relieved to be rid of the damn tooth to be honest, wish I’d opted for the extraction to start with and saved myself the bother (and expense).

[ILoveDaveLamb]

Originally Posted by derenstar

I had my tooth pulled out yesterday morning. Two years ago I faced the same dilemma and chose the root canal plus crown option. First one failed but this was put down to the inexperience of the dentist that carried it out. A more experienced dentist took a crack at it. The root canal procedure itself was relatively straight forward, just lots of injections during and soreness afterwards for a few days. In November of last year, I started getting pain again in the tooth and an X-ray showed signs of infection. They offered a further root canal but I declined and asked for an extraction. I’m really relieved to be rid of the damn tooth to be honest, wish I’d opted for the extraction to start with and saved myself the bother (and expense).

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I hope the pain from the extraction isn't too bad and that you heal up soon.

[Yorkie Girl]

I’ve got the same dilemma at the moment - no pain but X-ray showed quite deep decay. My NHS dentist said that it’s likely that the root canal work will fail anyway, but with a wide smile I can see the gap so I’m reluctant to extract. I’ve got until April when I go back to decide.

[Damn Dirty Ape]

I had a root canal and crown done about 8 or 9 years ago but then had some trouble with the gum round the tooth towards the end of last year. The decay was back but after looking at the work of the dentist they decided it wasn't worth redoing the root canal. They sent me to a specialist who wanted to drill through the crown into the root and flush out the infection but this only had a 90% chance of working (clearing the infection) and there was the risk that he could crack the crown meaning another expensive crown.

The other option was to pull the tooth and be 100% certain of clearing the infection so that is what I opted for. In the end you could always fit a bridge (this was my plan) or go the expensive route of an implant. For the bridge they advised to wait 6 months to give the jaw bone/gap between the 2 teeth time to settle. In that time I've got used to the gap and don't think I'll bother with the bridge when I have my next checkup in the coming weeks.

[Jakey Neverland]

I have also had root canal twice, one of my teeth I kind of regret as the tooth is quite discoloured but apart from that I had no problem with them.

I currently have a tooth that needs a filling underneath, never heard of that before but apparently I would need to be referred to a private clinic which I am left wondering if I should just get it pulled (mine is 2nd from back)

[TinkTatoo]

Originally Posted by derenstar

I had my tooth pulled out yesterday morning. Two years ago I faced the same dilemma and chose the root canal plus crown option. First one failed but this was put down to the inexperience of the dentist that carried it out. A more experienced dentist took a crack at it. The root canal procedure itself was relatively straight forward, just lots of injections during and soreness afterwards for a few days. In November of last year, I started getting pain again in the tooth and an X-ray showed signs of infection. They offered a further root canal but I declined and asked for an extraction. I’m really relieved to be rid of the damn tooth to be honest, wish I’d opted for the extraction to start with and saved myself the bother (and expense).

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Any tips for after the extraction? my molar is being taken out tomorrow

[goodevans]

Originally Posted by TinkTatoo

Any tips for after the extraction? my molar is being taken out tomorrow

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I had an emergency extraction of a molar the day before we flew to Italy one year

I was told that it was imperative that the clot that forms stays in place.
After 24 hours I was told to very gently swish my mouth with salt water several times a day for about a week.
Clean teeth carefully around extraction.
Smoking increases the risk of complications (luckily I do not smoke) .
Avoid hot ,caffeine based and carbonated drinks for a few days and avoid sucking on a straw for at least a week (as this can dislodge the clot). This surprised me as i thought a straw would be a good idea to avoid getting drink on the extraction site !
Obviously soft foods for a few days and then avoid chewing on extraction side.

Luckily I was absolutely fine although eating in restaurants was a bit of a challenge at times !
Also carrying little tiny ziplock bags of salt around made me feel like an illegal substance user !

Hope it goes well

Just to add that I opted for the extraction as the holiday was imminent but having suffered a root canal that went wrong before I think I would have gone down this route anyway !