Root Canal?

[HadEnuff]

Yeah, sorry, I guess the real name is "file." Whatever it is, it comes out wrapped on the device. Looked just like this, from wikipedia

Actually, that instrument in the picture is called a broach. It has little tiny barbs on it to grab the pulpal tissue and remove most of it. Files and reamers are then used to clean, shape, and widen the canal walls.

There. Now you can do your own.

There was a video on You Tube of a dentist doing a root canal on his own tooth. Not recommended.

 

[RAE]

Since he was put on an antibiotic he probably had an infection, that's probably why the 2 week wait.

Well, I'm not sure that I had an infection, and I don't know how the dentist can know either, as he didn't even look at the tooth before prescribing the antibiotic. I just described the pain I was experiencing, and he nodded and said yeah, an infection is probably starting........take this antibiotic starting today, and I'll see you in 2 weeks for a root canal.

I am starting to get a little nervous about having this guy do my root canal, after reading what many of you said about making sure you have an endodontist do it. The guy I go to (a regular dentist) has done plenty of root canals, but he's not an endodontist. He assured me that it won't be a problem to simply drill a hole through the crown and do the root canal that way, and then fill in the crown.......he said it won't be necessary to put on a new crown. He didn't mention anything about the possibility of cracking the existing crown when he drills through it......

 

[RAE]

Talking about infections, there are some comments concerning low grade infections in non-viable teeth (aka ones that have had root canals) that do not have obvious symptoms. But there are some "experts" that suggest having this dead tooth in your mouth isn't a great idea because these teeth are porous and harbor some really weird bacterial strains that are later found in the GI tract. Personally, I'm not sure there's anything to worry about, but wondered if anyone purposefully switched out non-viable teeth for implants.

Yep, I have read about this also, and it's one of the reasons I'm concerned about having a root canal. The dentist made some comment about wanting to "save a good tooth" (by doing the root canal), and I was thinking.......wait a minute, it's not a good tooth if the nerve is dead, it's basically a dead tooth! I know that the alternative is extraction and then an implant, at much higher cost, so I'm not real thrilled with that option either. I do not have dental insurance, by the way.

 

[RAE]

Talking about infections, there are some comments concerning low grade infections in non-viable teeth (aka ones that have had root canals) that do not have obvious symptoms. But there are some "experts" that suggest having this dead tooth in your mouth isn't a great idea because these teeth are porous and harbor some really weird bacterial strains that are later found in the GI tract. Personally, I'm not sure there's anything to worry about, but wondered if anyone purposefully switched out non-viable teeth for implants.

Here is one link to an article on what you are talking about:
Toxic Teeth: How a Root Canal Could Be Making You Sick
I have not formed an opinion yet on this.........just passing along information. I would be interested to hear what others (including any dentists on the board) think about this.

 

[Bamaman]

Every time I see people missing teeth, I immediately think they might have kept their teeth with a root canal--and dental insurance. Missing teeth automatically marks someone's position in society.

I have some root canals with caps. The worst part is the pain prior. Go ahead and cut my head off--it is terrible pain that never happens Mon. to Thursday (when dentists work.). Second worst!thing is paying $1700 for the root canal and a cap.

Right now, I am missing tooth #13. I hope people don't think I'm going to part.of the toothless crowd. I am ready for a dental implant which will cost $4,000+ before it is over. They should be considered a status symbol at that cost. Maybe I can beat the price in a Mexican dental clinic.

 

[Cronan]

I had one done about twenty years ago. I let me general dentist do it. He messed it up, big time. It wasn't done properly and kept getting infected and having discomfort in the gumline. Finally I went to a specialist another dentist recommended. He worked for a year trying to save it but ultimately I had to have the whole tooth removed.

I would recommend a specialist for any work like this as they do it all the time and know what they are doing. I would not recommend your regular dentist as they do not perform this procedure as often. It's like do you want your Ferrari fixed by joe blow at Merchants, or by the exotic car repair guy?

 

[O2Bfree]

Seeing that made my eyes water!

I had a root canal to clear an infection under a crown. The procedure in my case seemed no worse than getting a filling. Because of that, I made the mistake of being too cavalier and waving off the pain meds the doctor offered to prescribe. Also, I neglected to take any OTC pain meds after the procedure. I realized my mistake during a 10:00 meeting when the Novocain started wearing off.

 

[exnavynuke]

So, earlier I was going to say good things about the new dental practice I'm using, because they got me in this morning, and were going out of their way to schedule everything for tomorrow due to my time constraints.

Then... they waited until their office was closed/closing after 4pm today to tell me they need me to somehow come up with a doctor's note saying I'm cleared for sedation during my appointment tomorrow at 8:30am... you'd think someone in the past two weeks of me saying I wasn't doing anything without sedation beyond xrays and looking would have possibly mentioned that as a need before the night before my procedure (and after my doctor's office is closed for the day).

So, I think to myself, I have all of my medical records for the past 9 years including all blood work, stress tests, diagnosis, med history, etc. Surely any doctor can write that note (which I didn't need 2 years ago for them to sedate me for my extractions/implants).... nope, the available doctors at the urgent care clinic and tele-medicine refuse to look at my records and say "yep, he's safe to get IV sedation".

So, I get to spend 2 hours running around starting at 6 am on the very slim chance that my PCP will be in early enough, and have the time and inclination, to get around to writing something down saying I can have the sedation in time for me to then go halfway across town in rush hour to try and make my appointment... which I can't drive myself home from so I'll have to leave my car there if I do make the appointment with the miracle doctor's note saying I can be sedated...

So, for now, I'm really, really, really frustrated with the dental practice that lets me know in the evening before my work that they won't do it without a note I probably can't get... not to mention the doctors that refuse to bother looking at my medical history, labs, etc so they can say I can be sedated for dental work (just like I was 2 years ago with the same medical history and no need for a doctor's note).

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

 

[Goonie]

........My endodontist offers gas & I insist on it ($85 extra). No idea what's going on afterwards. Scenario:
Walk in
Get gas & dental dam
Wake up an hour later
..........

Except for routine cleanings and X-rays, I won't let 'em! do anything in my mouth unless I have my nitrous oxide! Just send me trippin' until they're finished, and then bring me back to the real world. And with a goodly dose of nitrous, and bunch of novocain, I can easily fall asleep in that reclined position. He has had to wake me up a couple times because my snoring was interfering with his work....."Sorry, Doc.".

I've had 4 or 5 root canals with no problems at all. I also have 2 crowns, and they did root canals prior to doing the crown. One of those teeth needed the root canal because of pain. When I had the second crown put in, he did a root canal first so that there would be no future need to have one done, and have to disturb the crown.....premeditated pain control.

 

[exnavynuke]

Can any of the dentists explain this to me? The way it was presented is that the circled number is what "I am responsible for". My insurance doesn't cover much (routine exam/cleaning/xray only) and I don't see anything in the "Prim" or "Sec" categories, but I'm concerned they'll bill me my "patient" amount initially then the difference between that and "UCF" once insurance officially denies any payment?

Is that a possibility or is the "patient" costs reflecting a "cash customer discount" or something? Obviously I'll ask them as well, but wanted another opinion as well.

 

[HadEnuff]

Can any of the dentists explain this to me? The way it was presented is that the circled number is what "I am responsible for". My insurance doesn't cover much (routine exam/cleaning/xray only) and I don't see anything in the "Prim" or "Sec" categories, but I'm concerned they'll bill me my "patient" amount initially then the difference between that and "UCF" once insurance officially denies any payment?

Is that a possibility or is the "patient" costs reflecting a "cash customer discount" or something? Obviously I'll ask them as well, but wanted another opinion as well.

I have no idea.

 

[MissMolly]

Although I am not a dentist and don't play one on TV, it appears to me that the circled amount is all you would be responsible for. The higher amounts are what would have been charged if you had not had insurance and the far right column reflects the savings to you since you have insurance. So, they will only be charging a discounted amount to you. Or you could just call them and verify this is correct.

 

[JoeWras]

Although I am not a dentist and don't play one on TV, it appears to me that the circled amount is all you would be responsible for. The higher amounts are what would have been charged if you had not had insurance and the far right column reflects the savings to you since you have insurance. So, they will only be charging a discounted amount to you. Or you could just call them and verify this is correct.

I'm looking at my recent EOB, with very similar procedures (minus the root canal) and my situation is exactly as MissMolly describes. The circle is what I pay.

 

[Capwest28]

So what did they end up doing to fix your problem? I've had an x-ray done on this tooth (no CT scan), and all they said about the x-ray was that everything looked okay. But the nerve hurts like hell.

I had the tooth extracted and am in the process of bone grafting and implant.

 

[mn54]

Can any of the dentists explain this to me? The way it was presented is that the circled number is what "I am responsible for". My insurance doesn't cover much (routine exam/cleaning/xray only) and I don't see anything in the "Prim" or "Sec" categories, but I'm concerned they'll bill me my "patient" amount initially then the difference between that and "UCF" once insurance officially denies any payment?

Is that a possibility or is the "patient" costs reflecting a "cash customer discount" or something? Obviously I'll ask them as well, but wanted another opinion as well.

You will be paying what is circled. although your insurance is not actually paying much, it is saving you a lot in discounted fees.

 

[exnavynuke]

Thanks all, I was concerned since my insurance doesn't cover most of the work that they'd end up billing me the difference between "patient" and "UCF", though they said I'd just get billed what was circled. I feel better (about the cost anyway) now.

In fact, it's quite a bit cheaper than I was expecting/planning for.

 

[oldtrig]

Dental work is something most of us retired don't plan for.

 

[JoeWras]

Dental work is something most of us retired don't plan for.

But we should. For those us (most) who have no dental insurance, it is especially important.

I've seen a few people here include it in the cost calculations, especially in the "random, unforeseen" category. Stuff like: insurance deductible for tree falling on house, HVAC replacement, water heater, appliance replacement. Add "crown, root canal, implant" to the list.

I'm going to call it $2k a year on average for DW and I. Some years, zero. Some years, implant.

 

[gayl]

I had the tooth extracted and am in the process of bone grafting and implant.

Just wondering --- why did you opt for dental implant rather than root canal 1st? Or did I miss something? On my plan:

Implant = $2889
Root canal = free + $85 gas
Porcelain crown = $325

 

[Corporateburnout]

Every time I see people missing teeth, I immediately think they might have kept their teeth with a root canal--and dental insurance. Missing teeth automatically marks someone's position in society.

I have some root canals with caps. The worst part is the pain prior. Go ahead and cut my head off--it is terrible pain that never happens Mon. to Thursday (when dentists work.). Second worst!thing is paying $1700 for the root canal and a cap.

Right now, I am missing tooth #13. I hope people don't think I'm going to part.of the toothless crowd. I am ready for a dental implant which will cost $4,000+ before it is over. They should be considered a status symbol at that cost. Maybe I can beat the price in a Mexican dental clinic.

Around here a root canal and a crown go for $2500 and an implant $6000.

BTW I am down in our summer home at the Cape this week and started having a toothache and since I've had multiple root canals I know this tooth needs one. Called my dentist in my home town and will have to drive back next Tuesday as he's on vacation until then. Fortunately the pain is manageable with Advil. I will be charged $100 bucks by my dentist only to tell me what I already know and book an appt. with the endodontist. I thought this year's dental bills will be for cleaning only. No such luck.

 

[Corporateburnout]

Dental work is something most of us retired don't plan for.

We planned on 5K annual dental bills but we averaged 8K in the three years we've been retired.

 

[Capwest28]

Just wondering --- why did you opt for dental implant rather than root canal 1st? Or did I miss something? On my plan:

Implant = $2889
Root canal = free + $85 gas
Porcelain crown = $325

Can't do a root canal on a fractured tooth per the endodontist I saw.