Root Canal, or No Root Canal?

[TorachiKatashi]

I'm currently in the midst of a pretty damn painful tooth infection - the second one I've had in this tooth in the last year or so. Once it clears up (which it feels like it never will, I'm about ready to rip that entire side of my jaw out), my options are either to get a root canal, or to just get the tooth pulled out. If I just pull it out, I run the risk of still getting another infection in my gums, but... Well. I've heard nothing but horror stories about root canals, and with my new job and post-secondary starting pretty soon, I don't know if I can afford to be incapacitated for that long.

So, LRR fans, what do you think? Do I get it pulled, or do I suck it up and get the root canal? Personal experiences?

[Dave-O_Boy]

Root Canals aren't painful or horrible. Just get one.

[Darkobra]

It can't be any worse than what you're going through now.

[Chemistring]

I had a tooth that decided to abscess on the Friday night of a long weekend. By Tuesday morning, I was seriously considering bashing my face into the corner of a wall to distract me from the pain. I found the first dentist that would take me, they did an exam and x-rays to confirm the abscess, drilled out the bottom surface of the tooth and rinsed out the infected gunk from inside the tooth, prescribed antibiotics and recommended ibuprofen, and sent me home for a few days to let the abscess drain and the infection clear up. Simply draining the abscess relieved about 75% of the pain and the drugs took care of the rest.

That Friday they put a temporary filling on the hole in my tooth. Later the next week they started the root canal and finished half, but the second root was still a bit infected (they pack the tooth cavity with paper cones, and when they tried to pack the second root I just about jumped out of the chair - that was the only painful bit). Resealed the tooth, waited a week, finished the root canal. Almost 4 years later I finally had the money to get a crown put on - composite, with white enamel on the 'public' surface, gold on the rest (premolar, slightly visible when I smile/talk, so I don't have a blingy gold tooth).

The most painful thing was the infection, the root canal was about as painful as getting a filling. Note that I don't have any fear of dentists/drills, but DO NOT want to have a tooth pulled while I am in any way conscious. My best friend, on the other hand, was terrified of dentists, spent almost two weeks(!) with an abscessed tooth, and finally got it pulled as it was the fastest and cheapest option. In her case, it was a back molar and her wisdom tooth emerged and moved forward to fill the space...home grown new tooth!

To sum up: weigh cost, inconvenience, and tooth location, along with your personal dentist comfort level. Extraction will cost approximately half of the root canal, but has the possibility of further infections (my sister has had dry socket, and confirms it sucks) and leaves a hole in your mouth. Will this be an issue (especially if it's a front tooth)? Can you afford a dental appliance (bridge, implanted false tooth, spacer) to prevent shifting? Root canals cost more (expect approx $800-1000, depending on dentist and location), but are basically more elaborate fillings. I wasn't really incapacitated (other than dentist appointments, I didn't miss work), and once the abscess was drained the pain was easily managed with regular Advil. Crowns are also expensive (again, around $1000), but as long as you're not chewing rocks they can wait until you're in a better financial position - as a post-secondary student, you may qualify for some dental benefits to cover ongoing care or partial cost of the crown.

Good luck, these things suck!
ETA: Wow, tl;dr much? Meh, I'm leaving it. Get the root canal, have a zombie tooth.

[korri]

I would personally get the root canal because I wouldn't want to get a fake tooth... I've never had a root canal but I feel like nowadays they aren't as bad as they used to be.

Also, if you don't have insurance or have a copay or whatever, do whatever is cheaper

[King Kool]

My boss had an abscessed tooth, and he said the root canal was no big thing compared to the unimaginable pain the abscess itself caused.

[Hakaryu]

Go with the root canal. the anaesthetic is good enough now of days that you don't feel jack.

[Cake]

Please. Get the root canal. You go in, they dope you up, do some drilling, and then you feel better.

[Tim]

Think long-term.

Think root canal.



*This message approved by the CDAA.

[Master Gunner]

From my (limited) knowledge (mostly acquired from this thread), have the root canal. I have a fairly high resistance to regular painkillers and the like, but proper anesthesia, like they'll give you before a root canal, has always being fully effective and I haven't felt a thing whenever I've had to have work done.

[It's My Delorean]

Root Canal, or Route Kanal?

i can honestly say, I don't like dentists, so apart from the weak in-joke/pun, I really have nothing to add, except, I hope your dentist is a decent bloke, unlike mine.

[Tetsubo]

I had a root canal done. While I despise injections the rest of the process wasn't that bad. I eventually had a crown made for that tooth. It was expensive but it didn't make me miss any work. I say get the root canal.

[empath]

Get the root canal; dentistry has come a long way since 'horror stories' about that procedure were in the public consciousness, and the dentists around here are pretty good, anyway.

And tell me you're not 18 yet, and your folks are 'poor': "13- to 17-year-olds living in families with low incomes."

MCP Dental Health Plan

...or maybe you've got private dental coverage or are covered by a parent's private plan.

[Jillers]

Root Canal if and when you can afford it. Until then learn to hew on the other side. It helps if you know someone who works in a hospital or nursing home and can score you free antibiotics if it acts up too (my own personal experience is similar to yours, I need a root canal. I don't have insurance or money so I can't. I'm careful to chew on the other side of my mouth now.) There are also dental colleges that will do those services for cheaper than a dentist proper.

[Cake]

It helps if you know someone who works in a hospital or nursing home and can score you free antibiotics

That would be illegal.

[tamaness]

It helps if you know someone who works in a hospital or nursing home and can score you free antibiotics

That would be illegal.

If there were no prescription involved, yes. If they were prescribed/ordered, the issue of payment is between you and the pharmacy.

[Amake]

My mom said her root canal was more painful than giving birth. I had one that hurt like blunt red hot iron nails being shoved straight into a naked nerve and held there for over a minute. Three times. Cause they had to inject painkiller into each of the three nerves of the tooth. I guess they make the procedure less painful every decade, but the question you gotta ask yourself, is having one tooth more worth the risk?

Personally I've had eight teeth pulled (three baby teeth, one wisdom), and I don't know why people get so attached to them. Teeth give you nothing but pain and trouble if you ask me. But eventually, if you care for them badly enough, you get cyborg teeth instead that are strong enough to eat regular teeth.

[Drecon]

Think of it as a question of confirmation bias.

You never hear about the ones where it goes right, while the bad experiences are amplified and repeated. If you're scared... Maybe there are some objective statistics out there?

[Lord Hosk]

why did this get bumped?

[Ptangmatik]

Just keep one thing in mind:

The longer you leave it, the worse it'll be. Whichever you decide, Get it done, then get ice cream. Both as soon as humanly possible.

Seriously.

[Dutch guy]

Guys, this got bumped by a spambot. Might be better to let it die again. I'm pretty sure Torachi got it sorted in the last 4 years

[Ptangmatik]

Wow! Yeah, 4 years would be rather too long to leave it. Did not spot that.

[Amake]

Time is an illusion, especially post times.

(At least that's my excuse for never looking at them.)

[AdmiralMemo]

Lunchtime, doubly so.