Hi! I know the answer to my question, with teeth it never ends, but couldn't it at least slow down? I had all my fillings replaced in spring 05, they were very old and some had a bit of decay under them. I recently moved and went to a new dentist. He told me 2 of the fillings are cracked, and I had one very small cavity and today I had that fixed, to the tune of $800. He says I also need a nightguard, which is also why the fillings failed so quickly. I don't grind my teeth, but I do clench them. On top of that, I have 5 root canals in my mouth, that will need to come out eventually, maybe - if I am lucky, they will last quite a few more years. And on top of that he told me, that if my fillings fail again, I will need crowns the next time.
Just wondering if it will ever slow down.... sometimes I wonder, unless I get dentures!!!! That doesn't seem like a good alternative
"root canals" is where the nerve of the teeth are taken out,so you wont get any more pain from that tooth.
crowns are put on to protect the teeth underneath,but once they fail,then there is no option ,but to have the tooth or teeth out,which leads to a plate unless ,your brave enough to go without
i have only a few nerves in my teeth ,and by god do i know there there ,i would love to have them all out ,but dentoist wont take them out
i am ,also coming to conclusion ,i will be needing a plate ,partial one anyway at bottom,paid thousands of pounds to try to avoid this,but cant put up with this pain
you can get a plate that looks like your own ,mine i got up top which is a partial one ,loads people dont relaise there false
but ,i dotn find it too comfortable ,also i am conciencious of having a plate
and sayign that i rather a top plate than bottom plates much more harder to get on with
any tips for partial plates at bottom? how well do they stay put? apart from glue cant stand that in my mouth have tried
A tooth that has a properly done root canal should last a lifetime. I see no reason why those teeth, just because they've had a root canal, would need to be pulled. Clenching your teeth will damage them and the fillings. I would wear the nightguard.
As for the cost of one filling, that sounds excessive. I just had a small two surface one on #10 done with the white filling that was $152 here in Birmingham, AL. However, you might call around to other dentists in the area and ask what they would charge for whatever tooth and number of surfaces you had done.
Thanks to all you great people for responding. I am just getting frustrated with spending so much money on my teeth and once I fix one thing, it seems like the next thing comes down the pike. It is just so expensive. My dentist says that root canals only last so long, they usually end up getting infected as you get older and your immune system slows down. Having that dead tooth in the mouth is a drain on the immune system, supposedly.
Bergerbaby, a friend of mine got a partial denture for the bottom and has had no problems at all. But from what i hear the top is a lot easier to keep in place. I wish they could speed up science and start cloning our teeth. That way, if they need to pull one, they could just insert a new one.... I can dream, LOL.
Happy Thanksgiving and hugs to you all!
Hi Katzenfrue.....It seems to me unless you have genetically
inherited bad teeth that you should not be having all of these problems....first of all, why would you have all of your old
fillings replaced just because they are old....It is different if
there was decay under them but just to have them replaced
because they are old makes no sense. Also root canals will
last a life time. The only thing that makes sense is that if
you are clenching or grinding your teeth you need to use a
night guard also so you do not wear your teeth down. You
could also find out the reason that you are clenching at nght.
Find a dentist who is familar with neuromuscular dentistry.
Usually you grind or clench because your bite is off. Find a
dentist that can check your bite and see if that is the problem. If it is that can be corrected permanently and you can dispense of the nightguard....Do your research and
consult other dentists before you start anyone selling you
something that you do not need....Karen
A root canal by nature cannot be infected. There's nothing to infect! There's no nerve, it's been removed! Having a tooth with a root canal is no different than the hair on your head. It's dead.
I should hope so anyway. I had this root canal for many years without any cap on it because I couldn't afford it (getting that fixed finnally on monday.) The decay on that tooth has been disgusting, I can taste it. But it CAN'T get infected, so it doesn't matter.
If your dentist is telling you your tooth with a root canal has been infected, I suspect he's seriously lying to you. The only time it's possible to have an infected root canal is if the dentist failed to remove the root completely in the first place.
However, according to what looks like a few websites that are far from reputable, any and all root canals are bad for your health, supposedly.
Last edited by SarahofBorg; 11-23-2007 at 12:40 PM.
