Root canal and crown or extraction?

Question

Five or six years ago one of my back molars broke. My dentist never said anything about it and it never hurt so I didn't think anything was wrong.

I recently went to a new dentist and he said it was a major problem.

Now I can either have a root canal and get a crown or I can get the tooth extracted and hope the wisdom tooth behind it will grow in its place.

Which is better to do(I'm 16)?

Answer 1

Wellll, You have a point that your wisdom tooth may come in & "replace the broken one if it's pulled, and it won't be too many years before that should happen.  I can tell you that I have had many, many root canals & crowns--all at extreme expense (and pain) and ALL of them rotted out under the crowns & were eventually pulled.  most within 5-10 yrs (and these were by various dentists across the US)  I now have acrylic partials upper & lower that look just fine, are a tad inconvenient as I have to secure them with denture adhesive, & they cost me about $200 a piece--a small fraction of a single root canal & crown.  PS: I'm now mid 56

Hope this info helps :-}

Answer 2

You are too young to lose a tooth.