Yikes, I might need a crown! Need some advice!
Moderator: bbsadmin
Geico is a car insurance company here in America.
A while back, their ad campaign went something like this:
A woman is sitting in the waiting room of a hospital. A doctor comes out in scrubs to talk to her.
Doctor: "Mrs. Smith, it's more serious than we thought. Looks like Jimmy will need an operation."
Jane: "Oh no, doctor!"
Doctor: "Yes, but I do have some great news!
Jane: "Oh doctor, what is it?"
Doctor: "I just saved a ton of money on my car insurace by switching to Geico!"
I tried to find an example on YouTube, but all they have are the new caveman commercials!
A while back, their ad campaign went something like this:
A woman is sitting in the waiting room of a hospital. A doctor comes out in scrubs to talk to her.
Doctor: "Mrs. Smith, it's more serious than we thought. Looks like Jimmy will need an operation."
Jane: "Oh no, doctor!"
Doctor: "Yes, but I do have some great news!
Jane: "Oh doctor, what is it?"
Doctor: "I just saved a ton of money on my car insurace by switching to Geico!"
I tried to find an example on YouTube, but all they have are the new caveman commercials!
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!
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Clairey Fairey
- Posts: 308
- Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:01 pm
- Location: England
After speaking with my dentist today, we decided to do a temporary crown. It will be done at the end of the month. It is the most conservative approach. If the temporary relieves the sensitivity, then I can get a permanent crown placed later.
But, if the tooth is still sensitive with the temp crown, then I may need a root canal done by an endodontist. Then the permanant crown would be placed.
There is always the unpleasant chance that the tooth could be cracked down too far (to the root), in which case it might not be possible to save it. In that case, I would need to get it extracted and have an implant placed. But I won't even "go there." I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a crown will take care of the situation. I would feel kinda sick about losing that molar after having 4 second bicuspids extracted a few years ago for my braces.
You know, it's funny -- I've never needed any sort of dental work like this before. I remember when I was little, all the adults would talk about root canals and crowns and bridges. So I thought, "That's what adults have done to their teeth when they get old." So I guess now at the age of 46 I am officially an adult!
Well, I'm not happy about any of this, because that tooth will be changed permanantly. But I realize that there really is no other option. I have given it many months to feel better....re-did the filling in hopes that it would solve the problem....really, I guess this is the only option if I want the tooth to feel normal again. Darn!
If I do need to see an endodontist, I will try to do that AFTER I get new dental coverage, which will probably be in late summer. I asked my dentist how expensive this stuff could be, and overall it would cost almost as much as braces! Yowza! The permanent crown is almost $1,000 alone. I wish I'd have realized all this before my dental coverage ended...I would have had it done a couple of months ago. You know they say that hindsight is always 20/20.
I'm also thinking about looking into dentalplans.com. IF they have a good endodontist in my area (one that my own dentist or orthodontist recommends), then it may be worth it to join, as long as there isn't a long waiting period to do a procedure like this or some pre-existing condition clause.
But, if the tooth is still sensitive with the temp crown, then I may need a root canal done by an endodontist. Then the permanant crown would be placed.
There is always the unpleasant chance that the tooth could be cracked down too far (to the root), in which case it might not be possible to save it. In that case, I would need to get it extracted and have an implant placed. But I won't even "go there." I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a crown will take care of the situation. I would feel kinda sick about losing that molar after having 4 second bicuspids extracted a few years ago for my braces.
You know, it's funny -- I've never needed any sort of dental work like this before. I remember when I was little, all the adults would talk about root canals and crowns and bridges. So I thought, "That's what adults have done to their teeth when they get old." So I guess now at the age of 46 I am officially an adult!
Well, I'm not happy about any of this, because that tooth will be changed permanantly. But I realize that there really is no other option. I have given it many months to feel better....re-did the filling in hopes that it would solve the problem....really, I guess this is the only option if I want the tooth to feel normal again. Darn!
If I do need to see an endodontist, I will try to do that AFTER I get new dental coverage, which will probably be in late summer. I asked my dentist how expensive this stuff could be, and overall it would cost almost as much as braces! Yowza! The permanent crown is almost $1,000 alone. I wish I'd have realized all this before my dental coverage ended...I would have had it done a couple of months ago. You know they say that hindsight is always 20/20.
I'm also thinking about looking into dentalplans.com. IF they have a good endodontist in my area (one that my own dentist or orthodontist recommends), then it may be worth it to join, as long as there isn't a long waiting period to do a procedure like this or some pre-existing condition clause.
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!
Unfortunately there is no real way to find a crack without exploratory drilling. This is assuming it is an internal fracture. Sometimes you can see craze lines or a piece of the tooth moving, but not always. The symptoms you describe do mostly sound like a cracked tooth, but not entirely. I have seen some crazy symptoms from a little errant plaque hanging out in a pocket. Clean it out well and you'll be surprised at the results. But, this is usually in a case without functional pain. Doing a temporary crown is the proper standard of care if a crack is suspected. I hope it works out for you.
$1000 is not a bad fee for a crown, especially in Cali. It could be much worse, wanna fly out and see me?
Remember that "Dental Insurance" is more of a discount. Most plans will only pay about 50% of major services and max out around $1500/year. So yes it would help offset some of the cost, but it is not going to pay for it all.
Best,
Rory
$1000 is not a bad fee for a crown, especially in Cali. It could be much worse, wanna fly out and see me?
Remember that "Dental Insurance" is more of a discount. Most plans will only pay about 50% of major services and max out around $1500/year. So yes it would help offset some of the cost, but it is not going to pay for it all.Best,
Rory
i just got a root canal last week after 6months of having an extremely sensitive tooth. i was really nervous about it too but you really don;t feel anything at all with the anaesthesia. my root canal was on one of my molars that has 5 canals so it took 2 hours to do, after the freezing wore off my cheek was only a little sore and was a bit swollen but the pain was minimal. My mouth acutally felt a lot better immediately after the root canal, i can have a cold drink again...