I have an upper right molar in a lot of pain. My dentist wants to do a root canal with a post and crown. That seems like a lot. What is the reason for doing that over a simple extraction?
Kevin
Dear Kevin,
A toothache often means an infected tooth. Based on what suggestion your dentist gave, yours is definitely infected.
When you are dealing with a tooth infection, as you are, there are two ways to deal with it. One is a root canal treatment, as your dentist suggested. The other is an extraction. Antibiotics will only work temporarily. The infection has to be physically removed. I am going to very strongly encourage you to save your tooth and get the recommended root canal treatment.
If you extract the tooth without replacing it, the tooth behind it will tip into the empty space; the tooth in front of it will drift, and after a period of time the bottom opposing molar will start to grow upward in an attempt to touch the upper molar. The only way to prevent that would be to replace it with a dental implant. Then you are talking about a surgical procedure and a dental crown.
Believe me, the root canal treatment is much less invasive and more affordable.
Never Put Off Treatment
People underestimate tooth infections. They are considered dental emergencies for a reason. Not only can they spread quickly and turn life-threating. I have a friend going through this very thing right now. She planned on getting a toothache looked at, but put it off. Before she knew what was going on, she was in extreme pain and couldn’t open her jaw.
Today an oral surgeon had to pry open her jaw. Then she had to do facial surgery to open her cheek to remove the infection which had spread far. She almost died.
This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Dr. Drake and Wallace.