Root canal v Tooth removal

Hi all,

My mate has just asked my opinion on a tooth issue he has.

He's been told the tooth has been infected, and there is now a hole in his tooth exposing a nerve.

The dentist has said he can either have it removed, or have a root canal. What would people advise? He has been told that due to the infection, the root canal may not work, so this could impact his decision, but any advise/past experience would be welcome!

 

Get it whipped out. Root canals are b'stards and I know a fair few people that have gone through it only for it to be unsuccessful and end up having it out anyway.

 

Seems to be pretty much what he was thinking

 

Depends where the tooth is. If it's visible, when smiling, laughing etc, it may cost far more to replace it with an implant, bridge etc, so he may want to try the root canal treatment first. If it's somewhere hidden away he may wish to have it out.

 

Go with the cheapest option.

No bigger robbing bas.tards around than dentists that's 1 of the reason I don't go (the other been im **** scared of them)

 

Happened to me. 200 odd quid. And then had to pay again to have it taken out. 7 injections including directly into the nerve. Take my advice. Rip it out..

 

Think yourself lucky with 200 quid - costs more than 3 times as much here! As for the decision, I agree with Stahlrost - it depends where the tooth is.

 

I've had loads of root canal jobs. They've all worked, so far. As far as I know it's these days a routine procedure for a decent dentist. John Lennon has the best advice.....

"All we are saying, is give teeth a chance"

 

I had loads of root canal ops at Leeds Dental Infirmary nor nowt - only one out of 7 went wrong & the others were pretty painless (especially if not paying for em)....

If I had had em all out I'd probably been wearing dentures as the age of 44.

It all depends on the circumstances.

 

Tell him to go for the root canal. It's not as bad as people would have you believe and will probably save the tooth.

Given the state of my teeth following a childhood of neglect I'm a bit of an old hand at dental surgery. The last few times I've had fillings I haven't even bothered with the anaesthetic. Barbaric old profession though. I spent a bit of time working as a recovery nurse in the Eastman Dental Hospital in London and one of my roles was helping the kids through their anaesthetic (the horrible gas smell that took me right back to childhood, and nearly had the effect of putting me umder too when I sat too near the ventilation hole leading off the mask!) before having their teeth unceremoniously ripped out in roughly 0.7 seconds by a couple of dainty little female dentists. Nothing dainty about them when they got the pliers in their grasp, I can tell you!

 

Root canal filling can be a tricky business,but a competent Dentist can do the job and the tooth will last for years,I used to be a dental technician,and I can tell you its much better to retain as many teeth as you can for as long as you can,if at some time in the future you need a denture or bridge,its much better to have something anchored to build to.

 

Couldn't agree more. Not a dentist, but once a tooth's gone, it's gone. Try anything before the pliers.

 

I had root canal surgery on a tooth, cost me hundreds of pound, never stopped hurting after I'd had it done and eventually had to come out a few years later. Still ****** off about it.

 

I think that's his concern. Doesn't fancy forking out for the root canal and have it still hurting after, then having to fork out again for it to be removed

 

I think stahlrost gave the best advice. If the tooth is visible go with root canal, if it's at the back out of the way then personally I wouldn't go through all that again.

 

I have always firmly believed

... that you should try anything possible before having a tooth removed.

Last resort.

 

Well I'm feeling such a big wuss, I had a root canal done and it was bloody painful but to be fair it's been fine ever since