I have two molars on the lower left hand side, at the very back, that are almost rotted away after incomplete root canal procedures. (Couldn’t afford to get crowns put in at the time.) For at least one of them, the remaining enamel has broken away to below the gum line.
Will it be impossible for crowns to be put in at this point? Further, if these were teeth in the middle of a “row”, I suppose I could get a bridge put in even if I had the remaining tooth material completely extracted. But since they’re at the very back, am I SOL and have to spend my remaining years toothless in that area?
I don’t think we can do dentistry over the web. It is an interesting concept but probably a failed business model. As with all medical info, we have to say that you have to see the relevant professional.
I’m missing the rear two upper molars on one side, and don’t find it to be much of a problem.
If crowns are not possible, a bone graft and implants may be (warning - not cheap). Obviously, a professional evaluation will be needed for your particular status, but theoretically there’s hope.
I had my back left molar extracted last year due to a long term low grade infection that ate away my jaw bone. After the infection was cleared up, the bone in the jaw slowly grew back in and filled the hole. After that, I was told I should get a titanium implant and have a crown put on it. My insurance didn’t cover implants, and I didn’t have an extra $2500, so I skipped it. If it had been both molars, I would have found the money someplace. And I may do it in a year or two anyway. That missing molar can be annoying.
So check with your dentist about the implants and your insurance about coverage.
I recently had a tooth break, just a bit above the gum line. It was repaired with a crown.
But my dentist mentioned that had it broken off below the gum line, it would not have been possible to repair it – the tooth would have had to have been removed and replaced with a false tooth. This would have been done either with a bolt implanted into the jaw bone and a false tooth screwed onto it, or with a partial plate that attached to the teeth on either side.
I had a rear molar that got all screwed from an incomplete root canal that I never capped and eventually broke off under the gum.
It took a lot of time and money, but they put a big gold crown on it. The plus side is now I feel like I am secretly a pirate, and gold teeth are much admired in my part of Africa and anyone that notices it admires it and asks how they can get their own.
I would do everything I could to keep the molars. They don’t need a lot to tooth work with and sometimes they can put a pin in the tooth then cap the tooth. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Lots of times the molar acts as an anchor for other work.
The problem is, one you have the tooth extracted the gum receeds at the point of extraction so it might be hard to do anything down the road if/when you decide to get a bridge or implant.
I think its VERY important to stress that if you are getting a root canal done in a back tooth (meaning anything behind your canines) you MUST get a crown on it. Back teeth become very brittle after root canals and will break without the protection that crowns give them.
If you are missing all your molars you are basically left with 2 options: replace them with partial dentures or with implants (which depend on how much bone you have left in your jaw).
Partial dentures are viewed, now-a-days, as almost temporary solutions, before the permanent implants can be placed in.
