I have been reading some of your other posts and have a few ?'s

1) Is there a time when a root canal is a good idea and you would opt for one or is extraction always better ??

2) you say " a fractured tooth is not salvagable " I thought a fractured tooth could be crowned IF it was not fractured into the root true or false ?? My wifes dentist told her she had a crack, root canaled and crowned it and its been fine for a few years, is this something different ?

3) Upper teeth, how many times are upper teeth into the sinus cavity ?? Is it fairly rare ??

have you ever had extractions or root canals or cracked teeth ? Just curious or are you the lucky one with perfect chicklets

Thanks for the answers and all the help you provide, I for one appreciate it

where did she go ??

Hi cvcman,

And here's my answers to your questions.....

1) Is there a time when a root canal is a good idea and you would opt for one or is extraction always better ??
<<Root canaled teeth irrelevant of how well the procedure is done will always harbor infectious bacteria in the microscopic canals. There is no instrument, laser beam, irrigant or antibiotic that can access these tiny canals to remove the bacteria. Any chronic infection/inflammation anyplace in the body burdens the immune system. Everyone has their own unique immune system and some people can withstand a chronic infection longer than someone else. But their resistance does not diminish the burden and over time that burden starts to show symptoms of distress. An example......Root canal teeth are like coronary artery disease in that the symptoms of the inflammation can be silent for many years leaving the person to think that everything is ok. Then one day, there is a swelling in the jaw...... or a pain in the chest which indicate that the immune system is no longer dealing with the burden.

I personally would never opt to do a root canal irrelevant of what tooth was involved because I believe my body is dealing with enough stress and burdens from various sources (some out of my control) so why add another one. I would rather eliminate the problem before it spreads to other areas. I am mindlful of what I have to do to be healthy so I live a preventative lifestyle as much as possible.

2) you say " a fractured tooth is not salvagable " I thought a fractured tooth could be crowned IF it was not fractured into the root true or false ?? My wifes dentist told her she had a crack, root canaled and crowned it and its been fine for a few years, is this something different ?
<<A fractured tooth has many scenerios, too many to get into here. A tooth can be fractured slightly to severely. If is in not fractured into the dentin portion of the tooth then a filling or crown may be the remedy. If it is fractured into the dentin, depending on where the fracture is determines the remedy. A fracture below the gum line presents other anatomical issues that can make it difficult to properly restore the tooth. Anytime a tooth is root canaled, irrelevant of the reason, the tooth remains infected. So to root canal a fractured tooth leaves the tooth in the same condition as does a root canal on an infected tooth. Same anatomy... same end result.


3) Upper teeth, how many times are upper teeth into the sinus cavity ?? Is it fairly rare ??
<<Posterior upper molars and sometimes other upper teeth can have roots near or in the sinuses. This is not rare but it is not the norm either. It differs from one person to another. Depends on the anatomy of the teeth and the size, shape and location of the sinuses.

have you ever had extractions or root canals or cracked teeth ? Just curious or are you the lucky one with perfect chicklets
<<I do not have perfect chicklets.... wish I did! I have had braces twice, I've had extractions and cracked teeth..... no root canals. I had several silver/mercury fillings in my posterior teeth from when I was a child that have sinced been refilled with composite fillings or porcelain crowns or onlays.

I'll be around if you have more you'd like to talk about :-))

Bryanna

interesting, so you would never opt for a root canal,an extraction IF a tooth was infected or fractured in the root you would go for an extraction, interesting.

So your thinking is the people who have had root canals for years are still playing with fire or maybe these people have better imune systems ??

On your extractions; did you replace them and if so with what ??

If you had a cracked tooth that the dentist said he could crown would you do that ??


I hate the thought that at 50 yrs old i am missing 2 molars and with this other one may be going for another

Oh also when you answer my last ?'s do you think I would be OK waiting a week before going in if im carefull around the tooth or am I risking an infection ?

My Anniversary is next week and so is deer season,lol

sorry one more ( you knew it right ? )

Why does a root canaled tooth have bacteria and not a reg tooth ??

Hi cvcman,

Correct, I would not opt for a root canal on a tooth that was infected or fractured beyond a restoration.

In my professional experience in Biological dentistry, all extracted root canaled teeth are sent out to be biopsied. In 30 years of dentistry, not one of these teeth ever had a clean pathological report. ALL of them harbored infectious nerve material AND necrotic nerve tissue that had never been removed during the root canal procedure. One other issue with root canals is the filling material that is placed inside the large canals just before the tooth is closed up.... it is called gutta percha and it is a rubberized substance impregnated with a radioactive dye so that it shows up on a radiograph. In addition to that, some dentists still use formocresal or formaldehyde to "disinfect" the large canals. This was the standard practice up until about 15 yrs ago and is still used by some. So the toxicity of the interior of the tooth is quite remarkable. Its simply exchanging infected nerve material for toxic replacement in the large canals. The accessory canals are microscopic and are embedded with necrotic nerve material. It is alot more complicated than what I am writing here.......

I had all 4 second molars removed to allow my wisdom teeth to come in. I had my lower left wisdom tooth guided in with orthodontia. I had another upper molar removed 32 yrs ago and never had it replaced with anything.

I've had cracked teeth crowned. So yes, if the tooth could be restored properly with a crown or onlay, that is what I would opt to do.

Listen at 50 if you are only missing 2 molars, you're doing pretty good!

Bryanna



50

Here's my thoughts on waiting..........

Happy Anniversary and see your dentist in 2 weeks.

Deer season...... take care of the tooth first. The deer won't miss you this year!

Bryanna

ahahahahah...... I had a hunch

Any tooth that has been restored has bacteria in it. Virgin teeth have no reason to have bacteria inside of them. It is once the bacteria becomes infectious that there is no reversing the infection.

Also, root canaled teeth harbor various strains of bacteria due to the fact that the blood supply is cut off during the procedure which renders the tooth non vital. Any body part that is deprived of blood will become necrotic and develop infection.

Am I explaining everything ok?

Bryanna

thanks gotcha !