I had a tooth that was crowned quite some time ago and there is decay in it again. My dentist does not feel that he’d be able to get all of the decay out and feels the best way to handle this situation is to go to an oral surgeon to pull the tooth. Then, he wants me to come back in a few months and get a dental bridge. As I have looked into this, it appears to me that a dental implant would be a better tooth replacement. However, with my new insurance, I still have eight months to go before I could even get a dental crown, so I am assuming it would be at least that before I could get any assistance with the dental implant. Assuming that is what I go with, how long could I safely wait between the extracted tooth and getting the tooth replaced?
Olivia
Dear Olivia,
Before you have this tooth extracted, I would recommend that you get a second opinion. Different dentists have varying degrees of willingness to put in the work to save a tooth. I can see no reason why the decay could not be removed from your crowned tooth. When you get that second opinion, I think your best option would be to see an endodontist, which are root canal specialists. They are much better at dealing with tricky root canals than most.
If it turns out that the tooth cannot be saved, then a dental implant will be the best tooth replacement option for you. That was a great choice on your part. However, I am not convinced your dentist is the one to do it. He outsources extracting the tooth and doesn’t want to work hard to save a tooth. I find it difficult to believe that he invested in any post-doctoral training to learn the dental implant procedure. This is an advanced procedure with serious consequences if the dentist doesn’t do it correctly. Please look for a dentist who has invested in that treatment. It is even better if the dentist can do the surgery as well as the restoration because that eliminates the risk of miscommunication between the two caregivers.
As for waiting between the time you have the tooth extracted and getting the implant, I would not wait more than a couple of weeks to get something in that empty place. Otherwise, the other teeth could tip or drift into the empty spot. You can get something inexpensive, like a dental flipper, to keep the space open. Then, when your insurance kicks in you can go ahead and get the dental implant.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville, IL Dentist Dr. David Potts.