Tooth extraction or crown?

[greeneyedchick]

I had a root canal last October and was supposed to get a crown in January when my insurance money rolled over. Right before Christmas, a bit of the temporary filling fell out and my tooth fractured. It's the bottom molar all the way in the back. After lecturing me for not getting a crown right away, the endontist recommended that I get it pulled (no need for an implant since it's the last tooth) rather than a crown. He said eventually, even with a crown, food will get into the crack and get a cavity. He said the tooth will eventually need to be extracted anyway. "Eventually" could be a year or 10 years or more.

I have lots of neck and jaw issues. Every time I go to the dentist, it flares up my neck and jaw pain. I decided that it would be cheaper and save me time/ pain, if I had it extracted now instead of going through the process of getting a crown. I never asked my dentist's opinion since he'd be losing out on the money for the crown. I felt like his recommendation would be suspect. I'm supposed to have it extracted this week and now I'm having second thoughts. I was in considerable pain for many weeks, but for some reason the pain went away this week. Maybe my fracture isn't so bad?

Has anyone had their back tooth extracted and regretted it? Has anyone put a crown on a fractured tooth and had success or failure? I know that this isn't Disney related, but I have been on these boards for years and value the opinions and experiences of this community.

 

[longboard55]

Hard to get a dentist to do an extraction, they like the more expensive procedures

 

[Micca]

the endontist recommended that I get it pulled (no need for an implant since it's the last tooth) rather than a crown. He said eventually, even with a crown, food will get into the crack and get a cavity. He said the tooth will eventually need to be extracted anyway. "Eventually" could be a year or 10 years or more.

I'd go with the endo's recommendation and get the extraction. Why delay the inevitable?

 

[jdb in AZ]

I had a back molar extracted years ago. Haven't missed it. the dentist said after the jaw healed i could get an implant if i felt the need. Haven't felt the need.

 

[Calee]

I had my second to last tooth extracted 16 years ago and I regret it. I end up chewing almost exclusively on the other side of my mouth which has worn those teeth and has caused issues on that side. Every situation is different of course. But I do regret it.

 

[Judique]

I had a root canal last October and was supposed to get a crown in January when my insurance money rolled over. Right before Christmas, a bit of the temporary filling fell out and my tooth fractured. It's the bottom molar all the way in the back. After lecturing me for not getting a crown right away, the endontist recommended that I get it pulled (no need for an implant since it's the last tooth) rather than a crown. He said eventually, even with a crown, food will get into the crack and get a cavity. He said the tooth will eventually need to be extracted anyway. "Eventually" could be a year or 10 years or more.

I have lots of neck and jaw issues. Every time I go to the dentist, it flares up my neck and jaw pain. I decided that it would be cheaper and save me time/ pain, if I had it extracted now instead of going through the process of getting a crown. I never asked my dentist's opinion since he'd be losing out on the money for the crown. I felt like his recommendation would be suspect. I'm supposed to have it extracted this week and now I'm having second thoughts. I was in considerable pain for many weeks, but for some reason the pain went away this week. Maybe my fracture isn't so bad?

Has anyone had their back tooth extracted and regretted it? Has anyone put a crown on a fractured tooth and had success or failure? I know that this isn't Disney related, but I have been on these boards for years and value the opinions and experiences of this community.

Get it extracted. You will never miss it. I had a crown on a last back tooth and it came off a couple of times. Had it put back on. Eventually it became a problem similar to yours and I had it extracted. Totally glad it's gone!

 

[Kwami]

Hard to get a dentist to do an extraction, they like the more expensive procedures

Maybe you need a better dentist. Mine had no problems at all with recommending extractions for a few teeth that couldn't be saved. He even did one of the extractions himself so that I could have it done before my upcoming vacation since that tooth was causing a lot of pain. An oral surgeon did the others sometime later.

 

[Music City Mama]

I'd probably get it extracted, but as you will see below, I've opted for that before.

I had my second to last tooth extracted 16 years ago and I regret it. I end up chewing almost exclusively on the other side of my mouth which has worn those teeth and has caused issues on that side. Every situation is different of course. But I do regret it.

I had my second to last tooth on the bottom extracted over 30 years ago (I was around 20 at the time with no insurance and didn't have the money for a root canal and crown). It's never been noticeably visible to anyone. Over the years, the gap has closed some that I'm no longer a candidate for an implant. However, I've never had any issues. My current dentist gives me a lot of pressure about getting a bridge because it will eventually cause me issues with my bite (although, he says it could be 10 years from now, could be 30). I hate the idea of filing down the two healthy teeth next to it for a bridge, having a crown (that could then have its own problems), etc., but he's making me feel bad about not getting a bridge. Anyone have opinions/advice for my situation?

 

[greeneyedchick]

I had my second to last tooth extracted 16 years ago and I regret it. I end up chewing almost exclusively on the other side of my mouth which has worn those teeth and has caused issues on that side. Every situation is different of course. But I do regret it.

I'm sorry that it's caused issues. I appreciate you sharing your experience with me.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Maybe you need a better dentist. Mine had no problems at all with recommending extractions for a few teeth that couldn't be saved. He even did one of the extractions himself so that I could have it done before my upcoming vacation since that tooth was causing a lot of pain. An oral surgeon did the others sometime later.

My dentist did write me a referral for the extraction since the endo recommended it. Only he did so without looking at my x-ray or talking with me. I didn't want to consult with him because I thought he'd try to talk me out of it. But now I'm wondering if I should try to save the tooth. Everything I read on the internet says to that you should always try to preserve the tooth. On the other hand, someone in this thread reminded me that they have to shave down the tooth to make the crown. By doing that, the tooth becomes an unusable tooth without a crown anyway, so it's not much a savings.

 

[TCRAIG]

I had my second to last tooth extracted 16 years ago and I regret it. I end up chewing almost exclusively on the other side of my mouth which has worn those teeth and has caused issues on that side. Every situation is different of course. But I do regret it.

Second to last too is worth either saving with a crown or extracting and getting an implant - but the last tooth is not…
If the tooth has indeed cracked - it will need to come out - once that crack goes below the gum line / it is very painful - and a crown won’t guarantee that a surface crack won’t deepen…

 

[Pooh2]

I had the last tooth crowned, then a root canal less than two weeks later (drilled through the crown and filled), then the whole shebang failed two years after that.
My options were extraction or implant at that point.
I am glad that I went with the implant to keep the other teeth from shifting around.

 

[slo]

I’ve had 2 very back molars pulled and I’ve been totally fine. Nobody can see that it’s gone and I didn’t want to put the money into any treatments. I’m about ready to have a third pulled soon.

Good luck with this

 

[PollyannaMom]

I had my back one pulled and I don't miss it.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Since it’s your back molar I’d just have it extracted. Crowns cost a fortune and since you’d most likely end up having it pulled anyway, why spend the money. If it weren’t your last molar I’d definitely get the crown though. I had my second to last molar extracted years ago and my teeth shifted and my bite is off.

 

[tvguy]

I had a wisdom tooth fracture, but no root canal. My long time Dentist put a crown on it. The Dentist he sold out to wanted to extract all my wisdom teeth (I still have all four) but I refused aa he just seemed interested in being able to bill me for the extractions. My current Dentist spent a little time studying my bite and chewing patterns and said I probably made a good choice not pulling my wisdom teeth because I AM using them the way my bite is. The crown went on that wisdom tooth almost 20 years ago and no issues so far. I hope to to live out my life with all my teeth, and at almost age 67 I am on track to do that.

 

[disneychrista]

I would get it pulled. I've had two of my back molars pulled and have had no ill effects.

 

[WarEagleFan]

I had the last tooth crowned, then a root canal less than two weeks later (drilled through the crown and filled), then the whole shebang failed two years after that.
My options were extraction or implant at that point.
I am glad that I went with the implant to keep the other teeth from shifting around.

I had a similar situation. Had a crown for many years on my top back tooth on the right. I ended up getting a chip in the crown and let a dentist remove that crown and replace with a new crown. I believe the dentist accidentally injured my tooth when she removed the old crown. Had to get the root canal also through the crown and then had filling placed. I did fine for about 4-5 years and then started having pain. I went to see the endodontist again who had done the root canal and he recommended the tooth be extracted, but said because of its location, an implant wouldn’t be necessary. I asked several other dentists their opinion if an implant was necessary and they all said no, that there shouldn’t be any shifting of teeth due to the location. My extraction, however , was on the top - maybe it’s different for your bottom teeth. I was still a little on the fence when I let the oral surgeon extract the tooth, so I let him go ahead and do a bone graft, just in case I decided to do the implant 6 months after the extraction. I ended up not getting the implant and I’ve done fine - it’s been about 3 years since the extraction.

 

[NotUrsula]

Extraction, definitely, and you may even find that getting that last tooth next to the jaw joint removed gets rid of some jaw issues, depending on what your issues are. I always recommend going with an oral surgeon for extractions; I know from bitter experience that some dentists are overconfident about them, but most don't have a lot of experience with difficult ones. (I have a fingertip-sized dent in my jawbone from a situation where the tooth's roots were deeper than expected, and the dentist just kept drilling out bone to try to free them. Never again will I trust a dentist with an extraction.)

 

[kanne323]

I had an extraction almost three years after having a root canal and crown. The root canal and crown processes were a breeze. Then I developed sudden pain in the tooth early in the pandemic and had to see a new dentist. He diagnosed an infection and pushed hard for an extraction. I felt like I didn't have any choice. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten a second opinion or had gone back to the endo who did the root canal, but it wasn't really feasible at the time.

The whole extraction process was not good due to the dentist and the dental practice. He was a pompous, patriarchal jerk who insisted on nitrous, which I'd never had for any dental procedure and felt strongly I didn't need, and came with a huge price tag. If I had to do it again, I'd walk out when he started that song and dance and find someone who would do it without. I had zero pain during the actual extraction, but spent the whole time in a near-panic state because of something the dentist said combined with feeling out of control due to the nitrous. There were other issues with the practice- their estimate was completely wrong, they told me a follow-up scan was part of the original price I paid and then texted me ten minutes after I left the office to tell me they were mistaken and I had to come back and pay $600, etc. So my memory of the experience is not good, but not because of the actual procedure.

I had way more pain than I expected for a few days, but have had no issues since. No issues chewing or anything. I've since moved and have a new dentist who seems to be much better, and I'm in the process of starting Invisalign before getting an implant.