about choosing not to replace an extracted tooth

[ScaredyCat22]

I know it is always recommended that after any extraction a tooth be replaced. I just want to share a little bit of non scary info I have found on choosing not to replace, or being unable to afford the cost of replacement in hopes it can comfort anyone who is currently faced with the prospect of extractions.

[out-of-date link removed]

the short answer seems to be no, not all teeth have to be replaced

[out-of-date link removed]

this was especially interesting, concerning missing more than 1 tooth and is dated December 1 2014
The latest research from the University of Adelaide challenges current thinking on whether many people with tooth loss really need dentures.

Many people with missing teeth don't need dentures

The latest research challenges current thinking on whether many people with tooth loss really need dentures, and the findings have major implications for public dental health resources and costs for patients.

www.sciencedaily.com

edited because I found this on from the American Association of Endodontists survey though it does not say how many people participated in the survey
More than half (58 percent) of those who have had a tooth extracted did not replace it with anything; the remainder replaced the tooth with a bridge (17 percent), dentures (12 percent) or an implant (8 percent).

[out-of-date link removed]

 

[Kris67]

Thanks for the links, it's good information to have when discussing options for the future. Unfortunately for me, the way I interpreted the information, it IS in my best interest to get an implant to replace the upper 2nd molar I had extracted in November...it supports all the reasons my dentist recommended. I go back to him Jan 5th to discuss my options and he will refer me to an oral surgeon if I choose to go that route, but he strongly recommended an implant prior to extraction so I doubt his opinion will have changed. I like this dentist and his staff a lot even though I just started going there in Oct/Nov; before that I had only been to a dentist twice in my life and that was in my teens? I am not thrilled I have to go to someone else for the implant, going through more procedures and time for healing or the cost!!!

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Thanks for the links, it's good information to have when discussing options for the future. Unfortunately for me, the way I interpreted the information, it IS in my best interest to get an implant to replace the upper 2nd molar I had extracted in November...it supports all the reasons my dentist recommended. I go back to him Jan 5th to discuss my options and he will refer me to an oral surgeon if I choose to go that route, but he strongly recommended an implant prior to extraction so I doubt his opinion will have changed. I like this dentist and his staff a lot even though I just started going there in Oct/Nov; before that I had only been to a dentist twice in my life and that was in my teens? I am not thrilled I have to go to someone else for the implant, going through more procedures and time for healing or the cost!!!

Hi Kris
I don't know your age but I am in my 40s so I was comforted by the findings that the older you are at the time of extraction the less the teeth tend to shift.
I especially liked this part from link 2
"I am going to guess that at least a third of my adult patients have lost back teeth in the past and have never had them replaced. A vast majority suffer no major problems"

I find the whole prospect frightening to be honest. I am not sure what I will do after my extraction. I had my dental phobia under control. It was more like severe dental anxiety than phobia until these recent months when I have had more procedures in 2 months than I have had in 4 decades and every procedure has led to more pain and more problems. My anxiety is back to full fledged phobia.

Good luck with your appointment on the 5th

 

[Kris67]

Scaredy, I am also in my 40's and happened to be researching the implant process, pros and cons when I read your post. The more I read, the more worried I get about replacing the missing tooth. I haven't chewed on that side of my mouth for years since I had an injury that chipped that molar (which started the destruction) and caused a wound inside my cheek that resulted in a fibroma and I don't care if someone should happen to notice the tooth is missing. Right now it isn't a problem but from what I read, it can become a problem over time...it's a gamble I guess.

When I had the first appointment with this dentist and he told me extraction was the best option followed by an implant (by an oral surgeon), I said I would be OK with just the extraction but not the implant because I didn't care if I had a missing tooth but he specifically warned me about teeth shifting and causing problems with the alignment, etc. It would be interesting to see studies by age group, which tooth was missing and for how long, results, etc to make a more informed decision based on data but I doubt that exists.

I am also very frightened and still not sure what to do, I bookmarked the links you provided because they were very helpful so I can make a choice that's right for me. BTW...my sister had an implant several years ago, I never even knew until I told her about mine. She is dental phobic and extremely needle phobic but she said it was no big deal. I am sorry your anxiety has become full fledged phobia; does your dentist have any idea why these procedures have resulted in more problems? That would scare me too!

 

[ScaredyCat22]

My problem seems to stem from replacing a very old very large amalgam filling with an even larger composite and pin. chances are high that the pin cracked my tooth, as pins have a high risk of doing, especially when you see a shoddy dentist They also spent a scary amount of time trying to force a band on my tooth which didn't fit and the pressure was unbearable and frightening to the point I wondered if they were breaking my jaw. The assistant asked several times if they wanted a different size but they were hell bent on getting that one on. Apparently cracks do not show on xrays but can cause the pain I am having.
I had no pain or sensitivity or any problem at all until the Novocain wore off from getting my filling, and have been in some degree of pain every single day since then. The first thing I noticed was the intense pressure in my tooth when they put the band on for filling was never relieved after the procedure was over and the band removed. even while I was still numb. The filling was also cutting up my tongue.

I went back and they filed it down a week later. This helped my tongue but the pressure never let up and I also began to have excruciating sensitivity to cold. even room temperature water was too cold. I went back again and they filed it down more and put something they called varnish on it that was supposed to relieve the cold sensitivity. Each time I went back I was charged for "emergency treatment" even though they were the cause of the emergency.

A month later with still no relief from the pressure or sensitivity I went to another dentist. I had also been unable to chew on this tooth since the filling.
He thought it was "reversible pulpitits" and that the nerve had been unable to settle due to needing a crown. xray showed no infection or any sign of needing a root canal. I agreed to the crown and he did it right then and there. At the time I was not aware that one should never ever put a permanent crown on a tooth that has a toothache and I was desperate for relief and believed this would help.
I was told that I would be eating normally by that night and that the cold sensitivity would go away and that I would feel a little bit better every day.
Needless to say that was not the case at all.
The pain progressed from dull pressure to aching all the way from my ear to my chin. every tooth on that side hurt. It kept me awake nights, when I did manage to fall asleep the pain would follow me into my nightmares and my husband would wake me because I was screaming in my sleep.

within a few days, still with this constant pain and pressure and sometimes pain in all my teeth I developed a stiffness in my jaw and rawness in my gums, and increased pain when yawning or otherwise opening my mouth all the way.
I went back to the dentist who did the crown. He took another xray, saw no infection and no visible abscess in my mouth, but said root canal would relive me of the pain. I agreed and he began it right then and there. once he opened my tooth he did see that the nerve was dead and infection had set in. because of that he did not complete the root canal that day but he did clean out the tooth and put a dressing inside it and left it open to drain. he put me on 10 days of antibiotics and told me to return in 10 days/
during and after the 10 days I was still in pain and did not think he would finish my tooth, but he chose to finish and fill it that day anyway. again telling me that I had no infection and that I would be eating on it that night and would continue to feel a little better every day.

again.... I have not felt better and can not eat anything on it other than very soft foods like pancakes or scrambled eggs. 6 days after my root canal I began to feel worse and was given 7 days of antibiotics in case of residual infection in my jaw.
I am now 16 days past my root canal and I have pain when the tooth is so much as touched on the sides. it hurts to floss, it hurts to touch, it hurts when I rinse my mouth, not due to hot or cold but due to the mere gentle pressure of water swishing over it. In fact the only improvement I have had at all is the sensitivity to cold is gone. My tooth aches. my jaw aches. I get sharp twinges of pain, and I can not live like this the rest of my life, so I prefer to have it extracted. After so much money and so many appointments I am afraid that if I spend thousands on an implant it will just fail. It was really hard for me to work myself up to going to all these appointments and getting this work done. I did it all with just a valium and Novocain. Too have gone through all this and to still be in pain is just devastating to me.

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Kris your extraction is on top? I don't know if it is in those links but I have read somewhere that extraction of a bottom tooth MIGHT run the risk of the top tooth super erupting into the space, but extraction of a top tooth does not cause the super eruption of the bottom.
unfortunately for me mine is a bottom tooth so this will be a risk for me if I decide not to replace the tooth.