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Is it absolutely necessary to crown a root canalled molar

  • Thread starter Thread starter Funkyfish586
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Funkyfish586

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Nov 7, 2011
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Hi all, i have a root canalled tooth that doesnt have a crown on it. I wasnt aware it needed one but when i went to my new dentist, he xrayed my teeth & said that he wanted to crown it. The tooth next to this one is broken & i am having that crowned in Feb, he said he might as well do the 2 together. I am finding this really really hard to deal with, to me its loosing 2 teeth. The one that is broken without a doubt needs fixing as i cannot eat on it & im scared the other half will go so its effecting my anxiety. The dentist referred to the root canalled molar as having a small filling in it ( only half the tooth is filled, so a good chunk isnt!) am i being silly to want to keep on to this tooth? i know a RC weakens the tooth but i have been using the tooth fine up until the one next to it broke, the dentist that did the RC never even mentioned a crown. Any advice would be great xx
 
The advice on our 'root canal' page goes along with the suggestion that all molar teeth should ideally be crowned if they have had a root canal. However from hanging out in dentistry forums I know that there are always exceptions and dissenting views here; and I totally get your concern about crowning involving a lot of trauma to the tooth as well as removing a lot of structure. Some dentists recommend just crowning the cusps and keeping the crown margin well above the gum line.

I still have a molar tooth which had an imperfect rct and having been taken out of bite by the original dentist (ask for this), it is still there. However after 18 years it got infected, I had it re-treated by an endodontist and 6 months later after the re-treatment I had it crowned by my dentist.

You may want to research different crown types, especially if at the back out of sight, as gold is the most conservative material and requires the least amount of tooth structure to be removed. Many dentists choose this durable proven material in their own mouths.

As to doing both crowns at once, this is the dentist wanting to maximise his profit in the appointment. I would recommend you let him do just the one and see if you like it etc etc . Risk trashing one tooth at a time is my motto with an unproven dentist.
 
Risk trashing one tooth at a time is my motto with an unproven dentist.

That made me laugh.... but so true!

Lincoln
 
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