Question about root canal procedure?

I move around a lot, so I was told I might need a root canal by several dentists. I went to a new dentist and asked him about this possible root canal. He said that he could not read my X-ray to see if I needed one, because -if- I have a fracture it is not showing or too small to read. Instead he said, if you want it I will give it to you. Well what does that mean? Isn't he the dentist? I either need a root canal or not. What do you make of this?





In other words, he would not tell me if I needed it or not. In fact, he said he couldn't tell. But he just said he would give me one. I was very confused. I just want to know if I really need one, before it gets infected if it does.

Question about root canal procedure?
Sometimes a dentist needs to get in there and look around in order to tell if the tooth is worth saving.If he works on this tooth and finds that you dont need a root canal then he will just do a filling and only charge you for a filling. I work for a very good endodontist and I do see this happening sometimes. He will start to work on the tooth in hopes of saving the tooth by doing a root canal,but once he sees that there is a fracture or decay into the nerve he will just stop and not proceed with the root canal.He will only charge a small fee for the little bit of work that he has done. I would see an endodontist about this tooth and let him be the judge. Most of the time a dentist can tell from an xray or by testing the tooth if it needs root canal. There are those few cases when he just cant tell and has to go with his gut instinct.
Reply:Means he'll take your money if you want him to but he's not positive he needs to.
Reply:if you're not feeling any pain there isn't much reason to do it. But we don't need to feel our teeth and if you kill the nerve root now i guess you don't have to worry about it later.
Reply:A fractured tooth is not a reason to get a root canal - in fact, just the opposite. Fractures are almost a surefire root canal failure, and depending on where the fracture is, the tooth may be a goner. He's correct that most fractures don't show up on x-rays, but some more obvious signs are probably there on the x-ray instead. I'd get a second opinion. If you have no pain and nothing on the x-ray, I'd just wait and see. But find a dentist you feel comfortable working with...or get referred to an endodontist (root canal specialist). Dentistry is unfortunately not clear-cut black and white. It's like medicine...ask ten doctors and you'll get ten different answers. (PS - I've done my time in dental school, just in case you were wondering...)

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