I have a bad tooth..

[W1991]

Hello,

2 months ago i had really bad pain on my left side first molar and also could feel a hard lump under it and if i pressed on the tooth it hurt. I took pain killers for 3-4 days and the pain went and i ignored it for 2 more weeks before going to see to dentist.

He done an x-ray and there was indeed an infection and was told i would need root canal or an extraction. The tooth in question has gave me trouble before and 7 years ago it had quite a big filling done to it as it was really decayed.

You can't see the lump you can only feel it, its hard but doesn't move.

Done 2 course's of antibiotics ( amoxicillin & Metronidazole ) but the lump is still there but the swelling went down slightly and was told to come back in 2 weeks.

My questions are can i still have root canal done if the lump doesn't go?
If i do have to have an extraction could the second molar move into its place to let the wisdom tooth behind it come through?
Could it be more serous than just an abscess?

Thanks!

 

[MattKW]

You shouldn't be going through courses of antibiotics and hoping the lump will go away. You should either get it extracted or start the RCT ASAP. An analogy: if you had a splinter in your skin that was causing infection, do you take antibiotics or deal with the splinter? Don't delay any longer - if this dentist wants the swelling to go down, then go somewhere else.
If you take out this molar, the wisdom tooth may move forward, but it will tilt over and be fairly useless. They often have to be extracted anyway.

 

[W1991]

Could i not use braces to stop it from tilting? what do you suggest? RCT? he did say extraction is last resort as you should always try to save the tooth if you can

I really don't want to have an implant or bridges... id rather leave the gap if i could do so without problems.

 

[honestdoc]

After tooth extraction, the back teeth (2nd molar and wisdom tooth if space is available) tends to shift forward (towards the midline) and the opposing teeth tends to erupt up. As Dr. MattKw mentioned, the back molar will tilt forward because of the crown shifts more than roots.

You don't have to have an implant or bridge. Many times (not always) the teeth shifting will stabilize the opposing teeth and the bite will also stabilize.

 

[W1991]

Thank you both for your replies. Do you think I should try the root canal first even if it could fail? I’m from the UK and it will cost me around £400. All my other teeth are fine no fillings yet!

 

[honestdoc]

I would go to a root canal specialist (endodontist) who uses a dental microscope. This tooth is very complicated and has very high failure rates. Very common canal most dentist miss is the 2nd Mesial Buccal.