I know you can’t give specific advice on individual cases, but I am wondering if I should seek a second opinion. I had two broken decaying teeth that I had neglected and I recently went to a dentist who insisted that they both had to be pulled. He also seems to think that implants are the only treatment. My Grandfather was a dentist and I was raised to hang onto all my teeth if possible! The second tooth has a great deal of the tooth still left. Why not a root canal and crown? I had one before several years ago on a bottom left molar and he says xrays show it is fine.
Please help,
Cynthia in Virginia
Dear Cynthia,
I’m suspicious when patients are given only one option for involved treatment. There are often two or three options for dealing with dental problems. It’s not clear to me why your dentist is so intent on extracting and doing dental implants.
If a tooth is broken and decayed, it can almost always be saved with a root canal treatment and a dental crown. I would encourage you to get a second opinion on your situation.
There are some cases where a tooth is unrestorable. If the decay goes all the way through the tooth to the underside, it is often unrestorable and has to be extracted. But even if the tooth has to be extracted, in most cases you could still have a dental bridge. It doesn’t have to have an implant. You may want to read our page about a dental implant vs bridge.
A dental implant is a nice alternative. Implants have become predictable, and, unlike a bridge, they don’t require having the adjacent teeth prepared for crowns. But I tend to encourage saving teeth where possible rather than having them extracted and placing an implant.