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Desperately hoping for alternative to extraction

  • Thread starter Thread starter holymolar
  • Start date Start date
holymolar

holymolar

Junior member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
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2
Hi everyone,
I'm hoping that someone may be able to give me some feedback about this!
I have a tooth (2nd from back, lower molar) that has been through the ringer this past decade and now the diagnosis is apparently extraction. I am so upset, PO'd with the Endo who gave me this rather casual determination and sort of stupidly desperate to find an alternate solution.
I had a root canal + crown put on 5 years ago, and now I was told there is a crack, bacteria collecting beneath the surface, so an apparent zero chance for it to be salvaged.
I have NO pain, NO discomfort, NO sensitivity whatsoever...never have .... so I'm frustrated that an apparently still-hardy (and already very expensive tooth) must come out. I just can't come to terms with a giant hole in my gums...(let alone the procedure itself) and all the accompanying b.s.
I begged the Endo that he please open it up, clean stuff out, put a new crown on, and even stick me on a battery of antibiotics if necessary...but he merely looked at me with that sort of condescending amusement like they do, and told me that that was not possible anymore.
I asked him how my tooth could be so infected but be feeling no pain or discomfort. He looked at me gravely and said .... 'oh, the pain will come'.
I guess maybe I'm in denial or something? Everyone is telling me that if he could do something, he would ... after all, which rich Endodontist wouldn't welcome more riches.
I am terrified of having to have this done - will need to dish out piles of cash for general anaesthesia for both extraction & implant - and right now am super depressed.
Is there a shred of hope that there could .... maybe maybe maybe ... be an alternative? (besides keeping the tooth, letting the infection spread systemically and dying of a heart attack, of course).
Any input is so appreciated,
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Hello there and welcome to the forum :welcome::welcome:

I have had pretty much the exact same thing with the same tooth, apart from instead of a crack, my tooth simply broke into several pieces. We had kept it going for about 10 years after I had it root canaled - I had the tooth extracted under a local anaesthetic and it cost me about £100 ($170) to have it removed. At the moment, I still have a gap there but towards year end I'm going to go for it and have an Implant placed, that's the expensive bit:eek: but I just can't live with the gap but that's just me, it's barely visible so I guess most people could just live with the gap and save a small fortune.

if the tooth is going to cause you pain, it's worth summoning the courage and getting it sorted (easy to say I know), Simple extractions can be done very quickly in most cases so I would initially consult a dentist.

hope it all goes well for you. Please keep us informed as to how you get on.

kind Regards
 
Thanks for the reply, Spike. I suppose there really is no way around getting it yanked ... I just feel so helpless right now about the whole thing. Oh well, I know it's not a death sentence, just something I never anticipated having to face. At least not til I was 90 and my teeth had had a life time of abuse!
Glad yours went well - (local anaesthetic?? how brave; don't think I could stomach all that supposed creepy crunching noise!).
 
I am going through the same problem with a front tooth, just thank your lucky stars yours is at the back. I would just have the tooth out.
 
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