So there's good news and bad news relative to my just-completed trip to the dentist.
The good news is that one of the fillings went off without a hitch. The bad news is that the other was worse than expected and a root canal, with a post, crown and all the trimmings, is in the offing. Can't say I'm thrilled at the prospect.
(And for all of you who are planning on posting saying that it's what I get for waiting so long to return to the dentist, Sarah's beaten you to it. So don't bother.)
While I am disliking both the likely pain and certain cost of the procedure, there's also a feeling that I'm pretty much throwing money down a hole. It seems like anyone who's had a root canal has pretty meagre results. I'm wondering if it wouldn't make more long-term sense to chuck the tooth and get an implant. Granted, this could be the inexperience with things dental talking.
I'll open the floor to discussion - do I have any options here, or do I just suck it up and get the root canal?
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4 comments:
I have had nothing but good results from my root canals (yes, two) and I had them done when I was about 10, so we're talking nearly 20 years now with no problems. I would think that dentistry has come a little way since then, so unless the dental plan has better coverage for the implant than the root canal, I would say go with the root canal. And take better care of your teeth so you don't have to go through this again.
Take the root canal. It's nothing compared to the rigors of an implant. Besides, even if it eventually goes the way that you're expecting - i.e., an implant after the crown & post wear out - you'll have plenty of time to start saving for the implant proce$$. And perhaps by then, the dental insurance industry will have come around and realized that there is some cost-effectiveness to covering implants rather than bridges, which inevitably wear down and need to be paid for a second and third time...
yeah, get the root canal. This is perhaps the only time I'll ever say "listen to Monty," so take heed. You'll get much more coverage for it than with an implant. And in the long-term, dental plans do seem to be gradually adding implant coverage. I first had my groovy times diagnosed in 2000 -- since then my dental plans have gone from zero implant coverage to $1500 max lifetime to 50% coverage, annual max $1500.
Coincidentally, I was at the dentist for a routine cleaning today. I guess it went faster, now that there are 6 less teeth to tend to.
Mark, I've had three or four root canals, all of which were completely elective, and all but one have done just great. (The outlier lasted a few years and then broke down; I eventually lost the tooth and got a bridge rather than an implant. I'm quite happy with the bridge as well.)
None of my root canals were painful. I was given prescription pain meds after each one, and I did take them, which is probably why they didn't hurt -- you're a lot better off taking pain meds before you actually have pain. However, in each case, I only took pain meds on the day of the procedure, and certainly didn't need any by the next day. Just in case, you might want to schedule the root canal on a day when you don't have to work or drive. For many people, though, an elective root canal is really no worse than a conventional filling.
Getting a crown is no big deal (except for the bill). I've got about a half-dozen of them, and I've always had all of the the work done under local anesthesia because my teeth are sensitive, but once the crown's placed, it shouldn't hurt at all. You don't want to crack walnuts with your crown, but then again, you don't really want to do this with a sound tooth either!
Good luck!
Julie
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