What to do with a half rotten/half chipped lower left 1st molar?

Question

3 years ago, because I had a tooth ache I had a dentist to look at it. At that time i was overseas and because I had to get back on the plane in less than a week, instead of injecting a medication to melt away the nerves, the dentist literally drilled a small hole into the middle of my molar. She then removed the nerves and filled it up.

When I came back from overseas, the filling came out fairly soon because i was chewing gum alot. I hadn't bothered to fill it up again because it didn't hurt anymore. Food scraps and things kept depositing in the small hole. After some time my molar chipped when i bit something really hard. I didn't take notice. 1 yr later it chipped again, i didn't care.

NOw it chipped big time and half my molar is gone. NOw i can see clearly how rotted the exposed bit it. I litereally have half a molar left, the front half.

What are my choices now? pull it out? stick something on? PLEASE HELP me with some ideas before going to a dentist.

It would be good to get an idea of the different fixtures/treatments that can deal with the problem and the costs involved (please indicate which dollar you are using ie: US, AUS etc)

i feel sooo lucky (sarcasm)

if I get my molar pulled out, can there be transplants? or is it only possible with the roots still in?

Answer 1

Your choices are to have it pulled, have it filled (but most likely it won't last as long as you'd want), or get a crown with a build-up. The crown is your best bet since you want to try to save your teeth and the spacing that they provide. The dentist will most likely need to do a build up which is where they use artificial materials (usually filling materials) to build up the tooth enough to put a crown on or build it up using a metal implant (different than tooth implants) and putting a crown on top.

Either way, talk to your dentist and he'll help you chose the right decision for you. :)

Good luck:D

Answer 2

First of all, there is no medication that "melts" away the nerves. The only way to take out the nerves is via a root canal (which is sounds like your dentist did) or by extracting the whole tooth- nerve and all.

Unfortunately, it sounds likely that you may lose the tooth.

Once a root canal is done on a molar tooth, the tooth itself is more likely to fracture. That's why dentists suggest putting a crown on it. But you didn't get that far- the temporary filling came out & you didn't do anything about it because it didn't hurt. It didn't hurt because the nerve was gone (root canal). So it just rotted away.

So now you may have a tooth that is "nonrestorable" (not fixable). Which means extraction.

FYI: It is customary to first put a temporary filling in a newly root canaled tooth, to make sure everything with the tooth is ok before you seal it all back up again with fillings and/or a crown).

Answer 3

Hello,
Welcome back to the states.
The first thing you need to find out is if the decay is into the root of the tooth. If the tooth is not structurally sound then yes you will lose the tooth and replacing the tooth is going to be more costly by doing either a bridge or an implant.
It is best to replace missing teeth, so that you can ensure that you do not have super-errupted teeth, where the teeth above or below it will start to "grow" because there is no opposing tooth to chew against. The teeth in front of and behind the extracted tooth will eventually tilt. Both things, super-errupted teeth and shifting of teeth, will eventually cause problems such as: sensitivity because a tooth structure called cementum is exposed and is not as dense as enamel, also it is more apt to get decay rapidly. The change in your bite will cause problems with TMJ.
Now if your tooth is salvagable: your dentist will likely recommend a root-canal to enable him to place a post (not an implant) into one of the canals and then place a build-up to replace the lost tooth structure. After that is done a crown will need to be placed to protect the whole tooth.
Good Luck, I hope that you are able to save your tooth.

Answer 4

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RE:
What to do with a half rotten/half chipped lower left 1st molar?
3 years ago, because I had a tooth ache I had a dentist to look at it. At that time i was overseas and because I had to get back on the plane in less than a week, instead of injecting a medication to melt away the nerves, the dentist literally drilled a small hole into the middle of my molar. She...

Answer 5

Unfortunatley I had to have my chiped first molar, upper my left, pulled for the same reason. I opted to pull first b/c insurance sucks and dentist bills are high. Second b/c the tooth got so bad undedected while I thought the filling was there, but it fell out sometime. So why would I dump $$$ and time and pain into this method to possibly, possibly save my tooth. Not to mention horror stories I have heard about root canals and problems with them later.

Then the dentist had me sign a waiver that I chose to have it pulled. So I guess there is an arguement to alternative answers. Good luck.

Bad teeth, my cross to bear. But I am going to try, try to fix my other teeth before too late. Once again, insurance sucks and a working living family dumps money first to kids. All my teeth will be gone someday anyway.

Answer 6

I'm not a dentist but I once portrayed one in a high school play and I would say GO SEE A REAL DENTIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!Don't ask the fools on Y/A about something that could become so infected it could cause you to lose your jaw or cause your death. Not to mention that it is probably causing you to suffer from extreme halitosis. Do you notice people step back when you start to speak?

Answer 7

hello... the best idea is go to a dentist that's what there there for.. i don't think there is much you can do when your tooth is like that.

Answer 8

have it removed. if you get it capped, you will eventually get rid of it. just do it now save the money

Answer 9

You have no other option than to have it removed. It will poison your system otherwise.

Answer 10

I SAY CUT YOUR LOSSES AND HAVE IT PULLED AND MAKE SURE YOU BRUSH BETTER FROM NOW ON.