Root canal vs extraction advice

[toothlessinseattle]

Greetings beings of dental fear,
Im looking for some guidance. Ive been informed that a tooth in the back upper right side of my mouth needs a root canal. I just had wisdom teeth extracted 5 days ago and this tooth is making everything so much worse. I dont have $ for the root canal and know there are risks associated with extraction and many dentists recommend saving a tooth at all costs...
My dental phobia/extreme anxiety as well as my mother's story make me hesitant to even consider a payment plan for the root canal.
Shes been in and out of a lot of pain and dental procedures in her life and has passed on her poor bone health to me. So she gets allllll these root canals/crowns and thousands of dollars later, many of the teeth end up needing to be extracted anyways.
I figure its a back tooth (only one small one behind it and then gums) so can i get them both pulled so i dont have the issue of them trying to fill the gap?
Will a surgeon pull them both?
I could get dentures for the price of a root canal which may or may not be effective and for how long?
I want to never be in a dentist chair again.
It conjures up so much bullshit from my past i now need a therapist as well..
Who, by the way, are all not accepting clients right now.
Thankful i found this forum and any advice helps.
?

 

[TKB1974]

Hello!

I’m also in Seattle, and I can 100% relate to your worries about the cost of dental care, specifically root canals and crowns. I actually just had two root canals and 1 crown placed in the last month. The tooth that brought me in was #2 (far back, upper molar). I opted to have the root canal & get a crown. Aside from the cost (even with dental insurance!) the procedures were great- no pain & successful procedures thus far. I’ve had zero issues with either of the root canals or crown. I also had to have a root canal done on a lower molar. I’m opting to wait on getting that root canal crowned until January, When my dental benefits refresh & it’s covered at 50%.Have you looked into Care Credit? That may be an option for you if the thought of trying to pay all at once is overwhelming. If you’d prefer to just have the tooth extracted, I’d ask your dentist for their opinion and if it will cause you any potential issues in the future. I think many folks (on this forum especially) have opted for extractions over root canals without issues. I wish you the best if luck whatever you choose! If you need a dentist or endodontist in the Seattle area (good with anxious patients!) let me know.

 

[toothlessinseattle]

Thank you for your response!
I was thankfully able to get in today to see the oral surgeon because someone cancelled?
They're going to extract the root canal tooth next week, said ill need a bit to heal from the wisdom tooth extraction and to make sure I wasn't making a decision out of pain.
Care credit I will look into but for now, I just want it out. And not to have to deal with it down the road.
Seriously considering dentures because I have such bad teeth/bone health.
That's cool you're from Seattle, I'm actually not... Just thought it would be a nice name for when I'm wearing partials in a year!
Thanks for your response and support it has made all the difference

Sick of dentists, you know.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,

I don’t believe one should save teeth in all costs. It really differs between cases because there are many factors involved, not only dental medical and financial but also who is the practitioner and which treatment suits their clinical skills.
though it is always better to brainstorm how to save teeth, there are also legitimate reasons to have them extracted, for example: having a tooth extracted gives certainty that the source of the infection is gone.

 

[toothlessinseattle]

thanks for the insight Dr. Daniel.. That's what I'm thinking as well. Just wondering now if they'll take just the 2nd molar (the one in pain) or the 3rd as well so there won't be that gap, or if that's even a concern to have.