Should I get a root canal or dental implant?

I need a root canal or removal of a back molar. If I get a root canal, I'll also need a crown lengthening, and crown because I broke one of the quadrants of the tooth off up deep into the gum area. I have been advised that a dental implant would cost the same, with less risk I think because of how deeply the tooth broke down. I don't think I can wait too long to have anything done because the dentist seems to have aggravated the tooth by probing. I am getting ready to go on a 12 day vacation in mid June, so I am afraid to begin root canal therapy since I will have only a temporary cap (which they always seem to fall off) while away from home. I figure I could get the tooth pulled before I left, and get the dental implant once I got back. I have heard that root canal therapy is more successful than implants in the long run. I don't know what to do. Any advice?

Should I get a root canal or dental implant?
I got a root canal done 11 years ago and a crown put on it. It has never bothered me since then, and the crown looks just like my original teeth. Implant means your completely losing the infected tooth, and an entire fake one put in its place, while root canal saves half the tooth and puts a cap (crown) on top of it. So my advice is that if u have the option to save the tooth, then why not?
Reply:If it is possible to do a root canal and restore your natural tooth, I would go for that option.





A dental implant the best thing you can get when you have a missing tooth. But your natural tooth is still better than an implant.





In most places, a combination of a root canal, crown lengthening and crown together cost a bit less than a dental implant.





For root canals: http://www.studiodentaire.com/en/treatme...





For crowns: http://www.studiodentaire.com/en/treatme...





For implants: http://www.studiodentaire.com/en/treatme...
Reply:I'd like to add a general rule of thumb to the 2 great answers ahead of mine. You are ALWAYS better with your own parts than fake, or other people's, parts. If you can salvage your original tooth, then do it. I wouldn't worry about the temporary crown falling off while on vacation. Ask the dentist about what sorts of things to avoid so as to minimize the risk of losing it, ie roller coasters, candy apples, paragliding, chewing gum. The dentist has heard all the stories about the people that lose the crowns and would know best. Good luck and have fun on vacation!
Reply:Definatly a root canal, and the crown lengthening then a crown! You want to save your natural tooth if at all possible....Make sure you have a really good dentist that you trust does good work!! It usually cost alot more to have a dental implant. And something you should think about is that while having an implant right now may seem to be the easyest route it is by far the bigger risk! An implant is a foriegn object that will be placed into the bone, and you must know that the bone can reject it! Once you have pulled the tooth their is no turning back and it is not a 100% guarantee that your bone will accept the foriegn object! Then you are looking at bridge work if it don't and that involves having to more crowns done to your perfect teeth beside the missing tooth! It's not worth the risk....I would definatly try doing root canal first, and if that don't work (which is rare) then you always have the option for the implant....Hope this helps you!





Oh yea, if you decide to have the root canal and your concernd about the temporary crown that is placed during the therapy. Ask your dentist it mix a small amount of permant cement and temporary cement.( not together separate) If he places the permanent cement inside the temp. first then the temporary cement on top of it, the temp. crown will hold...It works! And it's easy for the dentist to remove when he gets ready to finish his work!!
Reply:The restorability of a tooth depends on how much good tooth structure is remained. If a tooth fractured so deep into the gum line and down to the root portion of the tooth, the restorability of the tooth is questionable. A root canal treatment is needed as well as the crown lengthening procedure. A crown lengthening procedure is to remove some amount of gum as well as some bone in order to expose the clinical crown more. So the restorative dentist can place a crown on the tooth . But the tooth, even with the root canal and crown done, is structurally weak. The supporting bone and gum are also weaken due to the crown lengthening. In most case, a tooth that goes through such extensive treatment has only a fair to guarded prognosis. Sometimes the tooth will fail after only a few year.


On the other hand, dental implant is a more predictable procedure ( note: you must be a good candidate for implant to start with, meaning you have good quantity and quality of bone and good oral hygiene.) You should really consult with your dentist to see how severe the fracture is and choose the treatment that will give you the most predictable result. Good luck.

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