Having A Crown.. Whats Involved? Please Help

[redbull247]

hi i have not been to the dentist since about 2002 and in 2002 i needed 3 fillings! went yesterday (hated it!) and she told me i needed 2 fillings and a crown as part of a back tooth had broken off causing me some pain. she also says until she starts to clean it she wont know if i need root canal on it or not as it is close to the nerve. luckily the NHS has new pricing now and the whole thing with a scale and polish is only £198. but im aprihensive as to how long on the first apointment she will be "cleaning" my tooth drilling it away and such things and then i may need a root canal! just wondering if anyone has had this before and if so how long does it take? i will only be having the needle in the gum for the pain. 2 weeks from now on the 22nd!

 

[tiggeroo]

Hi,

I just had the prep for a crown yesterday, first they took an impression of the tooth the way it was right when I walked in. Then they gave me the novicane, then cleaned around the tooth and removed the decay. After that they did another impression to send to the lab to make the perm, then they placed the temporary and adjusted it for a perfect bite. All that took about 35 minutes and none of it was painful in anyway. I didn't need a root canal so I don't know what that involves. I'll get the permanent one in two weeks, and when they place that, it's really quick, I didn't get novicane for that and they just put it on and adjusted it for the bite and I was on my way home. You'll be fine - best of luck!

 

[redbull247]

Having a crown/rct...whats involved? Please help

hi there thanks for the quick reply! yeah i think the cleaning process wont hurt and the bit where they grind the tooth down a bit wont really hurt but im just a little worried i may need a root canal too. as the bit that has broken off is very near the root/nerve but as far as i can see on here they still clean the tooth for the root canal too then extract it. its the extracting of that that dont sound nice to me! lol i like the idea of never having any more pain in that tooth though! i supose it will be over in about 30 mins so its just grin and bare it aint it! dont like those impressions they feel wierd but i can deal with it!.

Hi i found out 2 days ago i needed a crown on one of my teeth as a bit has broken off. but the dentist says she wont know till she starts cleaning it weather i will need a root canal or not! these dont sound nice!! can anyone tell me how long dow it take them to do 1? i will need the tooth cleaned first any way but once cleaned if she decides to go and rip it out how long will i have to take it for ir does it just take 5 mins? i understand as soon as its out you cant feel any pain in that tooth ever again which is good i just dont want it to take ages!! anyone with any experiance please help! thanks

 

[brit]

Sorry I just merged two of your posts instead of merging them into one thread. Silly me..I wasn't concentrating properly.
I'm still confused though as to what you are asking exactly? Basically your dentist will open up the tooth to remove decay etc and at that point will decide whether a root canal is necessary, or whether a standard filling will suffice. A root canal will take longer than a standard filling but neither should be painful as you will be numbed up. A root canal may require a couple of visits but the first is usually the longest. Having it done is like having a deep filling...not really any different just takes longer as they are removing the pulp in the centre of the tooth. The tooth is then functional but 'dead' as the nerve is no longer there to give you aggro.

Then once the root canal is done and they are sure the tooth is ok, they often place a crown as a root canalled tooth is more brittle although having said that I have a root filled tooth with no crown and it has lasted for many years...so I have had a root canal but I have never had a crown. A crown typically takes 3 visits although there are some modern technologies cadcam etc which often do them in one sitting. It sounds like your dentist thinks your tooth needs a crown to strengthen it even if the root canal treatment bit is not necessary.

Extracting the tooth would be unlikely to apply I think as most teeth would be savable by doing a root canal treatment unless in a very bad way.

Hope this helps..basically your next visit...unless a standard filling will be good enough is likely to be the first in a short series but this is as it should be and it will help you get over your anxiety.

 

[redbull247]

hi thats for that. i am definitly going to need the crown as basicly a good chunk of my back tooth has broken off. she was just concerned as to weather or not it had broken off enough to expose the root and cause some nasty problems. so therefor she is going to clean my tooth up in my next visit and decide if i need the root canal. i half understand what they will do to prepare for the crown basicly drill my tooth down to a smooth surface take an impression and then send me away with a cap for a week or 2 till its made but i was nervous about the root canal as i have heard alot of bad things about them! and what i wanted to know is once she has cleaned my tooth down to see the extent of the damage if she decideds to do the root canal from deciding it to it being taken out my mouth how long will it take? cos i figure thats the worst thing is them ripping it out. as you say once its out the tooth will feel no pain. so its the the extraction of the root that is leaving me very nervous as i dont really wanna go through it! i hope the injections will mean i feel nothing.

 

[Okira]

hi thats for that. i am definitly going to need the crown as basicly a good chunk of my back tooth has broken off. she was just concerned as to weather or not it had broken off enough to expose the root and cause some nasty problems. so therefor she is going to clean my tooth up in my next visit and decide if i need the root canal. i half understand what they will do to prepare for the crown basicly drill my tooth down to a smooth surface take an impression and then send me away with a cap for a week or 2 till its made but i was nervous about the root canal as i have heard alot of bad things about them! and what i wanted to know is once she has cleaned my tooth down to see the extent of the damage if she decideds to do the root canal from deciding it to it being taken out my mouth how long will it take? cos i figure thats the worst thing is them ripping it out. as you say once its out the tooth will feel no pain. so its the the extraction of the root that is leaving me very nervous as i dont really wanna go through it! i hope the injections will mean i feel nothing.

I just had a root canal on Monday. Mine was a totally strange case and it took hours The good news is that it doesn't hurt at all. The majority of root canals take between 45 minutes and 1-1/2 hours. Here's a great page to look at:

My root canal experience

Do you want to find out what root canal treatment really feels like? Get a blow-by-blow account (and no, it's not scary)!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

If you have any questions, let me know!
Peace,
Susan

 

[brit]

Now I get it, you meant extraction of the root...confusing use of words .
I am happy to advise that mine was painfree.
Root canals have a bad reputation if they are done when infection is present in the tooth as this can sometimes make it harder to get the tooth numb but it is still possible with the right local anaesthesia techniques or by giving a higher dose of LA or if necessary by taking antibiotics first to clear up the infection.
From what you've said this isn't an issue with your tooth anyway so you should be absolutely fine and remember you are in control, if they can't get you comfortable enough to work on, then you can stop the procedure and rethink (various sedation options etc etc ) ...once you realise you are actually the one who calls the shots (this isn't open heart surgery or brain surgery!) it makes it much easier to decide to seek treatment.