I have a gold crown on a major tooth with decay near the nerve which
occasionally causes pain. I have a quote of around $2000 to fix the
single tooth using root canal, buildup, adjustments, and new crown.
Standard procedure that requires time and lots of money, and may last
7 years.

I would like to remove the crown, drill out the decay, add buildup to
fill up the holes, forget the root canal, and replace existing crown
for less money and time, and hope it lasts 2 years.

Is this a reasonable thing to do? Is there any dentist that will do
it?

Thanks,

-Bill

"Bill Bowden" <> wrote in message
news:1d8c6d89-58f9-4825-960f-...

> I would like to remove the crown, drill out the decay, add buildup to
> fill up the holes, forget the root canal, and replace existing crown
> for less money and time, and hope it lasts 2 years.
>

Sometimes it is possible to do a root canal through an access hole in a crown.
Then you may be able to get by with just a filling in the crown.

A dentist (not me) will need to know which tooth to give you a better answer.

Vaughn

Bill Bowden wrote:

> I have a gold crown on a major tooth with decay near the nerve which
> occasionally causes pain. I have a quote of around $2000 to fix the
> single tooth using root canal, buildup, adjustments, and new crown.
> Standard procedure that requires time and lots of money, and may last
> 7 years.
>
> I would like to remove the crown, drill out the decay, add buildup to
> fill up the holes, forget the root canal, and replace existing crown
> for less money and time, and hope it lasts 2 years.
>
> Is this a reasonable thing to do? Is there any dentist that will do
> it?
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Bill

If the pulp has been damaged by the decay this is not a reasonable
course of action. Your dentist is likely giving you fees based on the
contingency of the root canal being necessary. He/she may not be
certain of this based on your symptoms and/ or x-ray. If the pulp is
infected your legitimate choices are root canal followed by restoration
or extraction of the tooth. Ignoring an infected pulp is asking for a
toothache.
It may or may not be possible to remove all decay around the crown
while in place; it may or may not be possible to remove the crown
without either damaging the tooth or destroying the crown.

Steve

On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:23:04 -0500, Steven Bornfeld
<> wrote:

>Bill Bowden wrote:

>
>
>
> If the pulp has been damaged by the decay this is not a reasonable
>course of action. Your dentist is likely giving you fees based on the
>contingency of the root canal being necessary. He/she may not be
>certain of this based on your symptoms and/ or x-ray. If the pulp is
>infected your legitimate choices are root canal followed by restoration
>or extraction of the tooth. Ignoring an infected pulp is asking for a
>toothache.
> It may or may not be possible to remove all decay around the crown
>while in place; it may or may not be possible to remove the crown
>without either damaging the tooth or destroying the crown.
>
>Steve

What he said.

With the "drill through crown" would that likely remove all
the decay?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"vaughn" <> wrote in message
news:hmlpq6$ojf$...

Sometimes it is possible to do a root canal through an
access hole in a crown.
Then you may be able to get by with just a filling in the
crown.

A dentist (not me) will need to know which tooth to give you
a better answer.

Vaughn

With a gold crown in place, what's the chance of being able
to assess the level of decay? I thought gold crowns were
opaque to Xray? With my very limited understanding of
dentistry (having been a dental patient for several years).
I'd have to guess the crown comes off, then another Xray, or
some probing. Most likely a root canal, and then replace
crown, or make a new crown.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Steven Bornfeld" <> wrote in
message news:hmp1ap$vd8$...

If the pulp has been damaged by the decay this is not a
reasonable
course of action. Your dentist is likely giving you fees
based on the
contingency of the root canal being necessary. He/she may
not be
certain of this based on your symptoms and/ or x-ray. If
the pulp is
infected your legitimate choices are root canal followed by
restoration
or extraction of the tooth. Ignoring an infected pulp is
asking for a
toothache.
It may or may not be possible to remove all decay around the
crown
while in place; it may or may not be possible to remove the
crown
without either damaging the tooth or destroying the crown.

Steve