Cleaning + filling cavity + root canal + crown all in one trip - is this possible?

My dentist checked my teeth and did x-ray and found that my lower right molar tooth has some serious cavity. The dentist told me that he needs to drill out the cavity and put a big filling in there. However, if the decay goes too close to, or on, the root then I will need a root canal. If it does turn into a root canal he would then put the crown over the treated tooth. I scheduled an appointment for a later day but here are my questions:


1. Is it really possible to do all these procedures (cleaning, fill cavity on on tooth, possible root canal on the other tooth, and crown) all in one visit?


2. Should I trust him to do the molar root canal or should I go to an endodontist? This doctor is a general dentist, and I have never seen him. He does sound like he knows what he's doing, and he explained to me step-by-step what he is going to do. Before I left I found out that he is going to do at least 2 root canals before me.





Thanks for reading / answering :-)

Cleaning + filling cavity + root canal + crown all in one trip - is this possible?
1. It wouldn't be one visit because your dentist would need to send impressions from your tooth to his lab technician to have the crown made, though I think the canal and the filling could be done together.


2. Definately! Dentists preform root canals very frequently, I would suggest letting your dentist make that decision, because if he sees something that is beyond his skill level he will simply refer you to the specialist - don't worry about him taking chances, I can assure you that he doesn't want to leave himself open for legal troubles any more than you want anything to go wrong with your tooth! But in the majority of cases there's no reason that your dentist can't preform a root canal.
Reply:Nope.Just had a crown,you have to get it moulded first then they have to make a crown to fit on which can take afew days then they cement it on.You can get it done in 2 trips I should imagine.
Reply:You could get it all done in one visit except the crown; that needs to have a mold made, then they make the crown, then it has to be installed.
Reply:The cleaning is usually 1 hour. A root canal, can take up to 3. Then impressions need to be taken, another hour, the crown will need to be made (who knows how long that will take) then to put the crown in another 1 or 2 hours. You are looking at close to 6 hours with your mouth open in a dentists chair? You would be very sore the next day. I would rather he did this over the course of a week time, to give yourself time to heal
Reply:Honestly it depends on the dentist and the way he blocks his schedule. At my office this would all be possible. You would probably get your cleaning first, which takes an hour. Then the dentist would fill your tooth, do the root canal on your other tooth, and build up that tooth and prep for a crown. They would place a temporary crown on that tooth and you would come back in 2 weeks to get the permanent crown seated. That procedure would probably take 2- 2 1/2 hours here. You won't be there for six hours...
Reply:No way~





The cleaning and a filling shouldn't be a problem... if the tooth does need root canal treatment, you may want to go to an endodontist since they specialize in them. That would take up to 3 visits. Then the tooth needs to 'heal' for 3 weeks or so... then you'll need a core-buildup, and then you can have the impression for the crown. A temporary crown will be placed until the permanent one gets back from the lab, which can be up to 3 more weeks...





~hope this helped.

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