No, you can fill a root canal. It just depends how much tooth is left.

My crowns cost me $450 each.

A root canal does not cost $450 in Philly unless you go to an orthodontist, then it can cost a thousand bucks easily. I avoid orthodontists like the plague, they're little more than highwaymen IMO.

One thing you want to be aware of everytime you replace a filling a little more of the tooth is drilled out...thus weakening the tooth.

So unless the tooth is already under stress you don't mess with the fillings.

A Crown over a cracked tooth is only buying time till a Root Canal.

A Root Canal or extraction. You have to be kidding...ROOT CANAL...as you still have something to chew with. the alternative is a dental appliance or Implant...Implants are like having a real tooth but are EXPENSIVE and insurance will not pay.

Huh? a crown is only used if there's not enough tooth left to conduct a root canal and fill- they have to grind your tooth down for the crown to fit over top. When you get a crown you're often doing it part and parcel with a root canal because the decay was so bad the tooth cannot be filled, and must be capped.

Wait- crowns and caps are the same thing right? (Not being a dental expert, i may be talking about something else entirely, i have been referring to caps in all my posts).

I went to the dentist yesterday. They told me I had another filling. I brush and floss, but it was next to an old metal filling, which is yesterday's now failing technology. They presented me with a treatment plan for 3 crowns. I'll get one done next week with this filling. $1144, for one. My dentists "stimulus package" I joked. They didn't laugh.

I'm also suffering from a skin ailment and itching like crazy.

I feel so dirty. Dammit.

If a tooth is cracked it has to be ground down to beneath the crack, so it won't continue. Then a Crown is placed over the remaining portion.

I don't think 25 years to 41 years on that old "failing tech" is too bad a run...

+1 on root canal followed by crown.

I was told the tooth would be brittle with no blood supply to the root and break.

I hate going to the dentist. My wife & kid get the postcard reminders in the mail, I must have fallen off their their radar. I won't call until something hurts.
Not to get on a rant, but isn't the office cleaning just bs? I propose a blind test. Get you teeth cleaned at your favorite dentist. A month later (while following your best regimin of brushing/flossing) have an exam at another dentist. What are the odd that they recommend a cleaning? Unless teeth need to be cleaned every year/month/week/day/hour/etc.
Have a nephew dentist in Minneapolis, am sure he's a damn fine one.
Jim

A Crown isn't an old-school cap like you might be thinking that covers up the whole tooth, "BLING" style. A crown often just help replace the part of a tooth that's been broken, and still has a good structure. They just grind down the tooth a bit to make a good mating surface and cement.

After a root canal, very often the "filled" part like you're thinking is made into a "Post", and a crown is formed and cemented onto that "Post" in the middle of the tooth.

Mostly, crowns are there to hold your bad/dead tooth together, and also to provide a nice mating surface to the tooth opposite them, so that the opposite tooth doesn't wear funny and/or break as well.


Or, that's how my dentist explained my $1800 root canal / crown to me. Never ask your rich neighbor for a dentist referral. $$$

alright alright, yo uhave beautiful daughters alright. Too bad I am too old. :eek:

Rick, has your dentist made any big purchases lately? After my dentist bought a brand new Mooney (airplane), I suddenly had two cracked teeth that needed caps. Then my wife did too, even the same teeth. We each had one done, then decided we should go elsewhere. The new dentist never said a word to either of us about the supposed "cracked" tooth.

He used to restore 356 Porsche's. Now I noticed he is driving a new one (997?).

Rick Lee,

Here is the fee schedule for www.southwestdentalplan.com in Phoenix.

http://www.southwestdentalplan.com/SouthwestDentalPlan_Fee_Schedule.pdf

GL
John_AZ

Thing is, a sensitive tooth rarely gets better by itself for no reason... Unless you grind like crazy and start using a mouth guard. Often it's cracked or decay is happening under your filling... I had 4 crowns/root canals done last year, insurance covered 1! I don't regret it one bit thought. I can take pain pretty much anywhere other than in my mouth - dunno if it's proximity to the brain, but tooth pain is NOT fun and not ignorable and you don't want one to flare during, say a hurricane (and have to wait 5 days for power to be restored for your root canal guy) - speaking from experience ;-)

PS: from my recent experience, if you do a root canal, you get a crown, period. They used to not always crown the tooth, but I think that is pretty much over now, the crown is better at preventing seepage, and after a root canal you got no nerve left in the tooth to inform you the tooth is under attack until the rot hits the jaw... yuck !

A crown around here is $600 to $800. A root canal is not that bad unless the nerve branches under a certain point in the effected tooth, then you need to see the endodontist, a dude that collects large $ for the 15 minute priviledge of meeting him. Usually cash up front($750) before you begin. This happened to me a few years ago, I was stunned by the out of pocket cost of this guy(but he did save the tooth), and I have no problems today and still have the tooth. Likely worth it in my book. My insurance didn't help much, maybe $150.00.

Ok, I'm a Dentist and I read all the posts. Sounds like you have most things covered. A couple of points I will add:

I don't recommend replacing fillings unless there is something absolutely wrong with the present one, or the patient wants if replaced because its unaesthetic. The reason is what happened in the first post. A filling that has been in use for 10-20 years and is fine should be left alone. Once removed, the actions in removing it (vibration, heat, air) along with removing any tooth structure generally will create sensitivity that may be short term or longer.

A root canal is a procedure to remove the infected nerve tissue and provide an environment so the tooth can remain in the mouth pain and infection free. These generally always need to be covered by a crown. A tooth can be crowned without having a root canal.

Implants have changed how I approach Dentistry. I use to be "save the tooth at any (usually the patients) cost". Now if I see a tooth that looks to have a poor prognosis, I tell them to remove the tooth and get an implant.

If your unhappy with your Dentist, change. I am so busy that I have never worried about "diagnosis by checkbook" and would rather quit then be a salesman. I'm generally relieved when I see a new patient and they don't need any work. I am already backed up 2-3 months.

Do those 30 year old fillings also contain mercury?