Broken molar

[syncroid]

One of my molars broke last night while eating dinner. I didn't feel it or hear it break. The tooth had a filling in it from when I was very young. One of the old silver fillings. I guess I'm going to be paying my dentist a visit a.s.a.p. before the filling breaks off too and exposes the nerve. I truely hate going to the dentist.
What can I expect for the repair? Not money wise. How are they going to fix this thing. About a quarter of the tooth is missing and its driving me crazy. I keep sticking my tongue where the hole is.

[TimT]

Root canal, a post and cap..

That is if the tooth didn't fracture to far into the roots..

I am not a Dentist, but I recently went through what you describe. Tooth with 40+ y/o filling broke losing by feel what felt like half the tooth...

Post and cap was recommended by my Dentist..

3 visits and done

$1200 NYD (New York Dollars)

[MBAtarga]

Not a dentist - but did sleep in Holiday Inn last night.
If the break isn't severe - expect a crown. $600 or so.

[dewolf]

Done the same thing last week eating a boiled sweet, Spat the old filling and half the out. $250 and good as new.

[pete3799]

JB Weld..........good as new.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by syncroid

One of my molars broke last night while eating dinner. I didn't feel it or hear it break. The tooth had a filling in it from when I was very young. One of the old silver fillings. I guess I'm going to be paying my dentist a visit a.s.a.p. before the filling breaks off too and exposes the nerve. I truely hate going to the dentist.
What can I expect for the repair? Not money wise. How are they going to fix this thing. About a quarter of the tooth is missing and its driving me crazy. I keep sticking my tongue where the hole is.

I just had a crown done...no root canal...$1,100. Geeze, that would buy a pretty nice pool cue.

[Gogar]

No root canal, unless the nerve is exposed. If it doesn't hurt, you're probably ok. There's a possibility they might expose the nerve while cleaning up the decay, which will send you into the root canal zone.

Also, get a gold crown on molars, not porcelain. Porcelain breaks, gold bends.

[lendaddy]

Shouldn't need a post unless it's cracked off at/below the gum line. At least my dentist just saved one of mine cracked just above the gum line by building it up and doing a gold crown.

[sc_rufctr]

The repair is straight forward. Your dentist shouldn't have any problems repairing it.
Worse case... Porcelain crown but these as so good that it will be better than the natural tooth.

How are your gums? Do you have any bone loss?

Your dentist may suggest some deep cleaning if you need it. I get my teeth cleaned twice a year.

[targa911S]

I split one of my molars that was already canaled and capped. Busted it like a piece of cordwood, straight down the middle. No saving it. Had to have it yanked. It had 3 roots so he was in there with everything but a crow bar. They had to bust it into pieces and take i tout 1 by 1. My jaw was sore for a week. I swear he had his knee on my chest at one point.

[dhc]

If I say that I think rust is present on my Porsche, how possible is it to diagnose and suggest repair without further info?
Guys, excuse me for butting in here. While I seldom post on Pelican I do read it everyday for about 10-12 years now, and recognize that many of you are frequent posters with lots of interesting info on a wide variety of topics. But knowledge of dental procedures is not something most of you know about. Much of the above info is so wrong that, well, it made me wanna post this.
There are no absolutes for restoring teeth, every situation is different. A fractured cusp could be repaired with any thing from a minor 'patch job' to a root canal and crown.
99% of dentists would not be able to ascertain the need for a root canal or post based upon the OP statements. A couple of the above posts indicate that some of you have no idea of what happened in your own mouth.
Sorry to rant like this, but the bottom line is your dentist needs to take a look and determine proper treatment.
dhc

[Gogar]

Welcome to the Internet, dhc.

[syncroid]

A little more info., I have known for awhile that it was cracked. While eating, it would be sensitive when biting something like almonds. Going to the dentist has been on my "to do" list for awhile but the cash flow hasn't been there to get it done. Now I have no choice.
I wish it were as simple as a little JB Weld or Super Glue. I must have swallowed the broken part. Its gone. There is about 1/4th of the tooth missing. Broken at the gum line and up into the old filling. I have no bone loss whatsoever. All of my previous dental check ups have been two thumbs up from the doc. I still have three out of four wisdom teeth.
I'd take a picture of it but I really don't think you all want to see the inside of my mouth.

[sammyg2]

I also have a crack in one of my molars but the tooth is still intact.
The dentist has been watching it for a while, he finally said it's time. I go in for a crown on Friday. Insurance pays a little more than half, my cost will be close to $450.

[Moses]

I must have swallowed the broken part. Its gone.

It's not "gone". You just don't want to go get it bad enough.

[RWebb]

dhc - this is nothing - you should see the posts on diseases requesting diagnosis online!

you might enjoy a post I started for fun where I described and posted a photo asking for instruction on how to do surgery - it was last year I think

[dentist90]

Originally Posted by pete3799

JB Weld..........good as new.

+1 on the JB Weld!


(...or you could call your dentist. He/she can place a temp filling and smooth off the sharp edges while you plan for the restoration. If there's still enough tooth to retain a crown you should be able to avoid root canal treatment, given the pulp is still vital. Be aware that heavily restored teeth may require root canal treatment even years after restoring.)