How long can I wait for treatment on a tooth with no symptoms?

[Pianimo]

I suspect this may be one of those questions where there is no definitive answer, but I thought it was worth asking anyway! I am due to have RCT on a molar tooth. I have no pain or symptoms at all and there is no visible problem either. My dentist saw the decay on an x-ray and originally thought I just needed the filling redoing but he found a small lump under my neck that hurt when he pressed it (which he said he wasn't expecting to find) and he said that meant I need RCT. He also said he is 99% certain RCT will be successful but there is a small chance he will find he needs to extract instead. The adjacent tooth also needs a filling (the decay is between the two teeth I think) which will be done at the same time - I have no symptoms for that tooth either.

Since I am having IV sedation for the appointment and also anticipate the possibility of severe pain/swelling afterwards (that's been my previous experience of RCT!), I will need to book a couple of days off work, and that is difficult at the minute. My dentist said the treatment is necessary but not urgent and any time in the next few months is fine. That was about a month ago, and I am currently booked in for treatment in mid July. Due to issues with work that's no longer looking like a good time to take time off, and the next suitable time would be towards the end of August. However, I'm nervous about delaying treatment and I'm wondering whether it's an unwise thing to do.

My question is, is it ok to postpone treatment until the the end of August? (If it were your patient, would you advise against it?) Are things going to be getting progressively worse between now and whenever I have treatment or are things staying the same? Am I sitting on a ticking time-bomb so that I might suddenly develop terrible toothache and end up needing to have the treatment sooner anyway? Would postponing the treatment increase the likelihood of losing the tooth? I'm don't know if these are really obvious/silly questions, but either way I don't know the answers!

Thank you for your help.

 

[Arzoo Nasiry]

Yes to ticking time bomb. That's assuming that your tooth is truly infected. An abscessed tooth can go from normal to swollen and throbbing overnight. When there is swelling present, it is harder to numb the tooth. If you trust your dentists diagnosis, I wouldn't wait too long to have the tooth treated.

 

[Pianimo]

Thank you for replying. He's a new dentist to me so I'm not yet comfortable with him, but I do trust him professionally. That's why I was uncertain about the urgency of the situation because he is sure the tooth needs treating but he was quite happy to put off the treatment a few months - I saw him in early May and he suggested July/Aug when I mentioned work issues - so I took from that that it couldn't be too urgent. I'm confused now.

Also, is the lump an abscess then? I would have thought he'd have been much more urgent about it if it is. I've never had one before but I know how serious they can be! There is no visible swelling but I guess it's under the tooth.

Don't know what to do now.

 

[DisneyMom]

Thank you for replying. He's a new dentist to me so I'm not yet comfortable with him, but I do trust him professionally. That's why I was uncertain about the urgency of the situation because he is sure the tooth needs treating but he was quite happy to put off the treatment a few months - I saw him in early May and he suggested July/Aug when I mentioned work issues - so I took from that that it couldn't be too urgent. I'm confused now.

Also, is the lump an abscess then? I would have thought he'd have been much more urgent about it if it is. I've never had one before but I know how serious they can be! There is no visible swelling but I guess it's under the tooth.

Don't know what to do now.

I am in the same situation you are in now. I have a cracked molar lower right side, where an amalgam filling expanded and shattered the tooth. No decay, no pain. My Perio explained that having it root canaled soon, is the best thing I can do, as it is so much tougher once the tooth becomes infected. He said its not a matter of IF the tooth got infected, its WHEN. In some cases, it may only require two visits instead of three to finish RCT when a tooth has no infection. (according to my Perio in my case should only require two visits) The lump could very well be an abscess (but I am not a dentist) and unfortunately the longer you wait, the better chance there is of the tooth being infected. I am in the process of trying to get an appointment with my Endo to get started on my RCT Best of luck!!

 

[Pianimo]

Thanks for replying to me.

I still don't know what I'm going to do because I'm really nervous now about making the appointment any later, but I just don't know how it's going to fit around work. I can only hope things go really smoothly and I have a pretty painless recovery...which I don't think is very likely, but maybe I'm wrong!

I'm also confused about why my dentist was fine with me waiting 2-3 months if it's such a risk to wait. He's a new dentist to me but he is very experienced and respected so I never doubted his opinion, but now I don't know what to think.

 

[nervmania]

it is a strange phenomenon that seemingly urgent and important restorative work is put off so long by dentists.
there is also the preventive approach that dentists have and they literally we'll do everything way before things are going on.

I think it's best if you can just get the time off and get it done that's my personal opinion. I'm getting another crown done and I need two implants done so it's like endless.
I can't chew on the crown at all without having residual pain, so I will get my crown done number 31 bottom right before I go forward with implants.
best of luck to you