Just had a tooth pulled

[Mr._Graybeard]

... my third in about four years. The first two were lower wisdom teeth, so I didn't feel too bad about them -- a lot of people have them pulled as teenagers. But this one, I had hoped to hang onto. In fact, I fought a painful battle to keep it.

It was the right lower molar next to the wisdom tooth, the last molar in my lower jaw without a crown. I felt a little sensitivity back there, so I went to my dentist, who spotted a crack. You need a crown, he said.

As soon as he started preparing the tooth, it hurt like blazes. He had to give me a second round of novacaine to numb me up. After that wore off I was in pain 24/7. Couldn't sleep, couldn't eat.

I thought the permanent crown would bring relief, but that hurt even more. After a few days I went back and got a prescription for Vicodin. I thought I was going to need a refill, but then the pain settled down.

After still another visit to adjust the bite, I noticed a bulge forming along the gum line. Bad news. The crack had extended into the root, causing the bone anchoring the tooth to recede and providing a pocket for infection. The only treatment for that is extraction. The dentist pulled the tooth for free -- a nice gesture, since I had spent about $1200 on the crown.

I think my dentist did his best -- he x-rayed the tooth before starting on the crown, and the bone looked sound. The second x-ray he took told a different story, though. I guess the takeaway is that dentistry is an imprecise science, especially at our stage of life.

 

[SheitlQueen]

Had something similar happen a few years ago, tooth cracked and couldn't be saved. The roots had grown well into the bone so had to have some cadaver bone added. Never had a moment of pain during the removal or after. Got a pain prescription filled and ended up throwing it out. And I am the biggest wimp when it comes to going to the dentist, it terrifies me.
Hope you heal up quickly. Are you going to have an implant put in to replace the lost tooth? I never did, and so far so good.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I think I can live without an implant. I do see the loss as a sign that the equipment is starting to fall apart, though. Could be a lot worse, but still...

 

[aja8888]

I think I can live without an implant. I do see the loss as a sign that the equipment is starting to fall apart, though. Could be a lot worse, but still...

All my old dental work started falling apart a few years ago. Plus, I had some worn down teeth. $50,000 later, I have a nice smile and many new crowns and implants. Yeah, it's a lot of money, but what are you going to do?

I still have a couple of implants to go, but I am spacing out the work and the costs.

It could be worse at 74 years old such as being in an assisted living facility or nursing home.

 

[W2R]

I think I can live without an implant. I do see the loss as a sign that the equipment is starting to fall apart, though. Could be a lot worse, but still...

My guess is that you probably don't use a tooth that far back (at least not very much), and it won't show, so I would skip the implant too. In fact, at one point a year or two ago my dentist thought I might have to have that same tooth pulled, and we decided no implant was necessary. (Turned out he saved the tooth, but that decision was already discussed beforehand.)

I started needing implants in my late 60's and have had five of them by now. None this year, though! Now that's a good omen. Hope I don't need another for a while.

 

[RAE]

Had something similar happen a few years ago, tooth cracked and couldn't be saved. The roots had grown well into the bone so had to have some cadaver bone added. Never had a moment of pain during the removal or after. Got a pain prescription filled and ended up throwing it out. And I am the biggest wimp when it comes to going to the dentist, it terrifies me.
Hope you heal up quickly. Are you going to have an implant put in to replace the lost tooth? I never did, and so far so good.

+1, very similar experience here also (last year for me). Lower right molar in the far back had a crack in it that was causing me a lot of pain. Had to have it extracted. Never used the pain pills they gave me either. I have not gotten an implant yet either, and no major issues so far without it.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

My pain would have been minimal if not for the work to crown the cracked tooth. It hurt the wallet a bit, too.

 

[MichaelB]

Sorry to hear about your tooth. Only a fortunate few are lucky enough to keep all their teeth in original form.

One of my back molars is cracked, which doesn't show on any x-ray. It was discovered when the filling broke and had to be replaced. My long time (and long ago) dentist suggested I leave it alone. If it ever began bothering me, deal with it then, most likely by pulling it. He always insisted that occasional bother and ache was best left untreated, while pain that was sharp, chronic, continuous or affected eating . sleeping needed to be dealt with immediately.

My pain would have been minimal if not for the work to crown the cracked tooth. It hurt the wallet a bit, too.

 

[Texas Proud]

Yesterday I had a root canal on the next tooth forward... similar to you as there was a crack... he put on a temp crown over a year ago, but the pain never went away... it would come and go but was always there... about a month ago got worse...


The novacaine did not work as I could feel him drilling... got out some heavy duty syringe that could go into the bone!!! STILL I could feel it... but when he got the top off put the shot right in the nerve and the pain was gone...


Said that the nerve was dying... today that tooth is still in pain, but he said it would be because of all the shots and stuff he did to do the root canal... Will go back in a week to get the crown...


A few years back I did have a crack like you... all the way through the tooth, down through the roots... he fixed it and so far not a problem with it...

 

[MRG]

I guess the takeaway is that dentistry is an imprecise science, especially at our stage of life.

+1
I had my first root canal this year. I was really surprised how difficult it was to find the correct tooth. I thought the endodontist did a great job. While I was there a young woman came in, she was really upset and concerned about money. Seems her dentist had done root canals and crowns on two other teeth that were not the cause of her pain.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

+1
I had my first root canal this year. I was really surprised how difficult it was to find the correct tooth. I thought the endodontist did a great job. While I was there a young woman came in, she was really upset and concerned about money. Seems her dentist had done root canals and crowns on two other teeth that were not the cause of her pain.

My BiL and SiL went to a dentist for awhile who was (IMO) a real pirate. I think they each had two or three root canals. This was when they were in their 40s. I suspect the dentist's integrity and lack of scruples against doing expensive, unnecessary work.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Yesterday I had a root canal on the next tooth forward... similar to you as there was a crack... he put on a temp crown over a year ago, but the pain never went away... it would come and go but was always there... about a month ago got worse...


The novacaine did not work as I could feel him drilling... got out some heavy duty syringe that could go into the bone!!! STILL I could feel it... but when he got the top off put the shot right in the nerve and the pain was gone...


Said that the nerve was dying... today that tooth is still in pain, but he said it would be because of all the shots and stuff he did to do the root canal... Will go back in a week to get the crown...


A few years back I did have a crack like you... all the way through the tooth, down through the roots... he fixed it and so far not a problem with it...

This all sounds very familiar, pain-wise. I hope you get relief.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Sorry to hear about your tooth. Only a fortunate few are lucky enough to keep all their teeth in original form.

One of my back molars is cracked, which doesn't show on any x-ray. It was discovered when the filling broke and had to be replaced. My long time (and long ago) dentist suggested I leave it alone. If it ever began bothering me, deal with it then, most likely by pulling it. He always insisted that occasional bother and ache was best left untreated, while pain that was sharp, chronic, continuous or affected eating . sleeping needed to be dealt with immediately.

Yep, I think I should have waited longer before addressing the occasional sensitivity. The bone loss under the tooth from the time I had the crown until the tooth was pulled was very clear on my x-rays. If I'd waited another month, perhaps, the fact that the tooth was a goner would have been obvious.

 

[stepford]

I had all 4 wisdom teeth up until last year. Then I had a couple of bouts of really bad sinus/upper jaw pain. Dentists and ENTs couldn't find anything wrong the first time and the problem resolved on its own. Came back with a vengeance about a year later. Still nothing visible on X-rays, but my dentist found he could aggravate the pain by tapping on an upper wisdom tooth. In desperation I had him yank it... and have been pain free since.


It turns out the wisdom tooth had decayed underneath a gold crown and there was no way to see inside. I just wish they could have pulled it a year sooner. Anyway, as other posters have suggested, I didn't use that tooth much anyway and, with my dentist's concurrence, am not not bothering with an implant replacement.

 

[Bamaman]

Let's talk costs here.
Our local husband/wife root canal specialists charge $850 per tooth--cash or ATM cards accepted. No insurance accepted.
Our dentist charges $850 for most crowns, and it takes two visits in the chair. Most all teeth with root canals have to get a crown. That is $1,700 total.
I found a dentist that scans your mouth and has a tabletop CNC machine that carves a new porcelain crown in 6 minutes. Within an hour, you are out the door (in one sitting) with the new crown and she is $100 cheaper than other dentists.
I had one tooth break off at the gum and was referred to an oral surgeon. To remove the tooth was $895, including preparing it for an implant. He charges $2250 to do the implant, and $850 for the abutment (4 months later.). Then my regular dentist would do an $850 crown. Total for implant is $4845.
I was referred to another dentist for a $900 implant. After numbing me up, he spent 6-7 minutes on the process. It was easier than a simple filling. That oral surgeon should be ashamed for charging $2,250 for a simple 5 minute implant procedure. Now is time to get the abutment and crown done.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I found a dentist that scans your mouth and has a tabletop CNC machine that carves a new porcelain crown in 6 minutes. Within an hour, you are out the door (in one sitting) with the new crown and she is $100 cheaper than other dentists.

That's pretty impressive, like a dentist with her own dental lab. My dentist has a setup where they email a digital profile of the tooth surface to the lab. Results were very good, but I had to wait five days for the crown.

As for cost, I pay $1200 for a crown up here. I've gone to cheaper dentists, but I don't mind paying for quality work after paying less for inferior results.

 

[Potstickers]

One of my students is in dental school. He went on a service trip to a Mexican dental clinic near the border and was amazed at the quality and technology they used -- in a good way. Those CNC machines that make a crown while you wait are amazing.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

If I need an implant I may go the Mexico route. It's a long haul from Wisconsin for a simple crown.

Stepford, I also had a crown on a wisdom tooth at one point. Now that the tooth was extracted I can't justify the dentist's rationale for that work. I don't recall him suggesting that it be pulled, but in retrospect that's what should have been done.

 

[Bamaman]

The Mexican dental option is especially good if.someone has to time of major repairs and/or for numerous implants and dentures. Instead of $20k, they may be more like $5k. Many make the trip to save so much.

They problem is finding one of the great dentists. There are so many recommendations and ratings online, however they cannot be trusted. Many of the dentists are just not up to the job.