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Can't have a root canal, I don't want to lose my tooth

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scaredToothy

Junior member
Joined
Jul 13, 2021
Messages
3
Location
USA
I have been told I have an abscess and the tooth will need to be removed. I'm not doing well as I don't want to lose a tooth. It's #14, the molar in the back, but still. I'm not having any symptoms of infection so who knows how long it's been going on. I've had 3 different dentists look at the xrays and agree there's infection so their minds are made up. I went for a root canal but it couldn't be completed because once the tooth was drilled into, a couple of cracks were found. So Dr didn't think the tooth could support a root canal. So that puts me in a spot in terms of having to have an extraction and possibly an implant. My insurance doesn't pay for implants. So I could get some insurance to pay part on implants but not until next year because I already have a policy. But if I have the extraction And then get the insurance I'll come up against the dreaded missing tooth clause and insurance will never pay for implants. But why can't the infection be drained? That's what you do with infection anyway. And Why can't an apicoectomy be done? I know it's usually done after a failed root canal and I didn't have a root canal but would it be worth a try? To me it would seem worth a try if I might get to keep my tooth for a while. I don't really want an implant either. I want to leave this earth with the parts I came in with. I've always taken care of my teeth, gotten regular cleanings for 50 years, never have drank or smoked, so this is too much to deal with. Only thing is I have bruxism but wear a nightguard. That's probably what's causing this anyway. But it doesn't help me deal.
 
But why can't the infection be drained? That's what you do with infection anyway. And Why can't an apicoectomy be done? I know it's usually done after a failed root canal and I didn't have a root canal but would it be worth a try?
Because the root source of the infection hasn't been treated, so it will drain into your mouth permanently. Until either the root canal space gets invaded by a more aggressive bacteria which could cause a major blow up with lots of pain and swelling or else your body gets fed up with the constant irritation and walls off the area, causing a cyst to form which can cause other issues that we don't need to go into right now.

Apicectomy won't work because the tooth is cracked, allowing more bacteria into the root space so it won't ever heal.
 
Because the root source of the infection hasn't been treated, so it will drain into your mouth permanently. Until either the root canal space gets invaded by a more aggressive bacteria which could cause a major blow up with lots of pain and swelling or else your body gets fed up with the constant irritation and walls off the area, causing a cyst to form which can cause other issues that we don't need to go into right now.

Apicectomy won't work because the tooth is cracked, allowing more bacteria into the root space so it won't ever heal.

Great answer @Gordon - one to add to the root canal FAQ page perhaps?

@scaredToothy - I hope you can figure out a way forward with the financing issues. Best of luck :clover:!!
 
My insurance is maxed and I had an abcess on tooth 30 a few weeks after a root canal. I lived w it for 4 to 5 years poking the abcess bubble to drain the pus which builds up after eating or using the tooth. You get a strong pressure feeling when its not drained. Beginning June this year I just got the tooth pulled and a bone graft. Only pulling the teeth is covered. I paid 6 to 7 bills for bone graft. Awaiting many months before implant. Then crown w implant in Jan w new insurance. Note everything is not covered but pay attention to how all three appts are spread out in terms of many months and paying separately for each process. Keep us posted with your progress!
 
It's a bit too rambling, isn't it... maybe split up the FAQ and the personal account into two separate pages?

Better illustrations would also help.
 
scaredToothy, I just wanted to empathize with your difficulty at the thought of losing a tooth. I am 50 and have lost 5 teeth so far (in addition to wisdom teeth). I have 2 more that need to go right now and I am preparing myself mentally for partial dentures. (For me, it's part of PTSD associated with an abusive relationship and developing dental phobia after that). I lost my first non-wisdom-tooth when I was 39. It was hard. I, too, just didn't want to lose a part of myself. At the end of the day, though, it was okay. You can mourn the loss and I believe you will be okay. Our bodies wear out and break down and teeth are part of that. Fortunately for you, you have come this far without having lost one and with the care you have taken, you may fare very well going forward with your other teeth. Sometimes, things happen and teeth crack. Would it help to think of people who get in an accident where teeth are knocked out and nothing they did caused it? It's part of life. I try to think of the things that I haven't lost physically (and hope I never do). I don't know if this will help. I hope it does. I just wanted to say that I understood your feeling, and I try to see it as part of the bigger picture of aging and moving through life stages. I hope you do well.
 
Anne2021, I think you got the nail on the head when you said you just didn't want to lose a part of yourself. That's what aging is - you're always losing something.

To Gordon - you were talking about the body getting fed up with the constant irritation and walling off the area causing a cyst to form. I suspect this may have already happened because I'm having so few symptoms of an abscess, almost none. I suspect the abscess may have been there for years, irritation at least, because I have gum swelling above tooth (which doesn't hurt) but it popped up right after I had the filling replaced 12 years ago.
 
This year, I have been working through the stages of having an implant placed (had to pay for it myself; no other way, just using FSA funds). I just had the crown placed Thursday. The implant itself doesn't hurt but the teeth in front of it do. The fit is very tight, even though I can get dental floss in between. It feels like I hit the teeth in front of the implant first when I bite together. I also grind my teeth in sleep and have worn a nightguard for many years. That's what it feels like, pressure from bruxism, maybe? Dr asked me if it felt like I was hitting the implant when I bite but it feels more like the teeth in front of it, but it's just on the side of the implant. I don't understand why it would affect just those teeth, when I've never had trouble with those before? Maybe the teeth shifted, since it's been almost a year since the tooth was pulled?
 
Given how much you've paid them, I'd expect your dentist to be happy to investigate this for you :)
Get in and have them check your bite.
 
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