Question about infected root canal tooth

[Peachy123]

Twenty-five years ago I had a root canal on tooth #19. It went fine; the tooth had three roots as opposed to two. About five years after the tooth with the canal broke and it was capped. About five years after that it broke again and was capped again. Now fifteen years later I have a fractured root and an infection and my dentist told me to have it removed. I was referred to a periodontist to have it removed and have a socket preservation and bone graft. My insurance will only cover the extraction and the periodontist wants me to pay up front. All of this is fine; I said I would pay for the extraction and chose not to have the socket preservation and bone graft; the cost of those are $3000 and I cannot afford it. Since then both my dentist and periodontist have called me multiple times to explain that I will have bone loss from the infection and if I don't get it done it will affect the shape of my face and cause irreparable damage in the future. They want me to know that it was an option to fix it now so that I won't come back on then later and say that I wasn't given the option. That's the long story. What I want to know is , will my face shape really change? Do I have to have this done? No one put me on oral antibiotics though I did have treatment with Aridex (I think that's what it was) and it didn't help. I feel I'm being forced into something that I simply cannot afford. It's just not feasible. They've told me that eventually the surrounding teeth will cave in and can come loose as well. They also said that a dental implant was a better option but insurance won't cover it. It's possible I could get some work done at a dental college nearby but the appointment for the extraction is tomorrow and I don't want to go in there feeling like I have to have this done and then basically feeling like crap for not having $3000 to get work done.

 

[Dr.Vishwanath]

Just because of a single tooth your facial appearance will not change drastically, trust me. It will affect your grinding and chewing functionalities though.And also the space created by the removal of your tooth can cause your other teeth to drift causing spacing. But it will take time.

So what I suggest is you go for the removal of tooth now and then replace the missing tooth whenever you can afford.

Hope this helps

Dr.Vishu