This reminds me of working on a rusty car....

[recycled sixtie]

How far do you go with saving a tooth? Went to the dentist today to check out an uncomfortable tooth. Doctor says that I either have a cracked tooth or a tooth that the root is dying. Either way the tooth does wobble a bit. Dentist is sending me to an endodontic to drill the filling out and determine whether the tooth is cracked or not.
If cracked the tooth should be pulled and if not then a root canal can be done.

Fortunately the tooth is the very bottom left anyway so it does not have to be replaced. Anybody had this before? I am tempted just to get it extracted rather than go through all this bother of probing first. Your thoughts?

[widebody911]

Leave it as-is, put on some clear coat to protect what's left, lower it until it scrapes on the group ("on its nuts" as it were), put some huge wheels on it and tell everyone it has "patina"

[Steve Carlton]

Any concerns with bite mark forensics down the line?

[Rikao4]

splinted a cracked tooth in the boonies with a guitar wire (string)..
Dentist was pleased and capped/saved it..

your gonna lose teeth down the line..
and this could be the one you need to wear dentures comfortably..

Rika

[Steve Carlton]

Dentures good for play dates. You get a goofy second set from Mexico.

[GH85Carrera]

You likely have a choice of pull it for a couple of hundred and live with no tooth there, or a root canal. Root canal will be over a grand and then you need a crown for another $1,200. It depends on how much you are will to pay for chewing.

[fastfredracing]

Speaking of rusty cars. .... Found this today inspecting a 2005 Malibu. Steering rack mount rusted away. I also was able to remove the sway bar mounts from the frame without unbolting them.

Good luck with your tooth !

[FLYGEEZER]

Her teeth are like stars....they come out at night.

[cashflyer]

Solid food is over-rated.
Booze don't require no teef.

[mikester]

Jb weld, duh...

[Nickshu]

Depends on how extensive the fracture is. Your endodontist may be able to see the extent down the microscope but would have to be actually doing the root canal to see it. Cone beam CT may show it (I have one in my office) but I find it does not always show up clearly unless there is alot of bone loss around the fracture. Vertical fractures can show clinically as an isolated periodontal defect on an otherwise periodontally healthy tooth. Overall early root fractures can be very difficult to correctly diagnose. I would get the endodontist opinion and go from there. For me, these days, if there is a long term prognosis question then you're better off to consider an implant replacement now rather than after spending $$$ for a root canal and crown only to find out in a year or two that the tooth was fractured in the first place.

[porwolf]

I had acouple of bad teeth two years ago. One just broke off and the other was infected and needed at least a root canal. I checked out prices and found implants plus crown are about the same price as a root canal plus crown, Maybe a little more. I decided for the implants. All done now, look great, work great. I think the advantage is if something happens to the crowns they can be replaced easier because they are screwed onto the implants.

[911SauCy]

Won't buff out? C'mon...

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

Depends on how extensive the fracture is. Your endodontist may be able to see the extent down the microscope but would have to be actually doing the root canal to see it. Cone beam CT may show it (I have one in my office) but I find it does not always show up clearly unless there is alot of bone loss around the fracture. Vertical fractures can show clinically as an isolated periodontal defect on an otherwise periodontally healthy tooth. Overall early root fractures can be very difficult to correctly diagnose. I would get the endodontist opinion and go from there. For me, these days, if there is a long term prognosis question then you're better off to consider an implant replacement now rather than after spending $$$ for a root canal and crown only to find out in a year or two that the tooth was fractured in the first place.

Nick you seem to know what you are talking about and I do appreciate that. Because it is the bottom left tooth and it is tucked way in the back of the mouth my thinking is to let the endodontist do his initial exam only and then get the tooth extracted by my regular dentist. I understand the specialists want to save teeth but to go through all that discomfort and $$$ I don't think it is worth it.
Thanks Nick.

[Brando]

What was the total out the door? Facing a similar situation...

Originally Posted by porwolf

I had acouple of bad teeth two years ago. One just broke off and the other was infected and needed at least a root canal. I checked out prices and found implants plus crown are about the same price as a root canal plus crown, Maybe a little more. I decided for the implants. All done now, look great, work great. I think the advantage is if something happens to the crowns they can be replaced easier because they are screwed onto the implants.

[supdaf]

I had a lower right, aft most molar implanted for a crack situation. Yes it takes a few trips to the office over about 6-8 months if I recall. Personally the implant was not a big deal.

Tooth pulled and some bone chips installed in the resulting hole
I refer to them as magic bone dust.
chips have to ossify?

From that point on it is just like normal thread installation. Insert installed with a healing cap. Pin installed for impressions as a locating post. Tooth made and installed. Might be forgetting something but I think it was all very interesting. I'm the guy who wants a mirror to watch the doc do the work. Not always possible but I want to see.

A plus is the dentist has some cool tools. The neatest was a 4 inch deflection beam torque wrench. I want one...I dont know why. I would never use it but it is still cool.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

Nick you seem to know what you are talking about and I do appreciate that. Because it is the bottom left tooth and it is tucked way in the back of the mouth my thinking is to let the endodontist do his initial exam only and then get the tooth extracted by my regular dentist. I understand the specialists want to save teeth but to go through all that discomfort and $$$ I don't think it is worth it.
Thanks Nick.

We'll I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night....

If you are talking about a lower second molar then I generally agree. Most people chew and function fine with a first molar bite provided the rest of the arch is intact and you have a normal molar alignment (referred to as a class 1 occlusion). Second molars are often referred to as "luxury teeth".