Root canal or crown?

[Roney]

Hi, my name is Roney I live in Brooklyn NY
Due to Covid my regular dentist is not coming in, so I went to a local dentist he said that one of my teeth needs a crown $2400 with quite a few cavities before performing I went for a second opinion (due to past bad experience unfortunately)
and second dentist said that this tooth needs

1) premolar retreat root canal
2) prefabricated post and core
3) temporary crown (fractured tooth)
=$4600
4) permanent crown
$2650

I'm confused and scared as my appointment is scheduled 2 weeks from now and the teeth is getting smaller with black spots

Can someone please chime in with anything I can do on my end & if that makes sense?
Thanks a million

 

[Dr M]

Good day

Do you have any photos or x-rays of the teeth?

 

[honestdoc]

Do you have any pain and or swelling? When was the last time you saw your regular dentist? If you saw him/her within the past year, I find it suspicious that the local dentist found quite a few cavities. Like Dr M asked, provide x-rays if you can and some mouth images. We can't determine if your root canal needs retreatment without x-rays. Keep in mind we cannot diagnose with x-rays alone.

 

[Roney]

Good day

Do you have any photos or x-rays of the teeth?

 

[Roney]

Do you have any pain and or swelling? When was the last time you saw your regular dentist? If you saw him/her within the past year, I find it suspicious that the local dentist found quite a few cavities. Like Dr M asked, provide x-rays if you can and some mouth images. We can't determine if your root canal needs retreatment without x-rays. Keep in mind we cannot diagnose with x-rays alone.

Hi, thank you for your detailed reply.
Unfortunately I do have so much pain (when eating and food getting stuck between teeth-cavities)

 

[honestdoc]

Unfortunately there are no uninterrupted images of the Upper Right First Premolar where the tooth is not cut off. As stated before I can't diagnose based on x-rays and much less without an intact one. An important factor is swelling indicating infection and failing root canal. I do see cavities on Lower right and fracture or cavity on LL back molar. If you need root canal retreatment, I recommend going to a root-canal specialist (endodontist) because a lot of things can go wrong. However, it can get very costly. You may consider going to the dental school and maybe faculty practice where there are a lot of resources to meet your needs. Consider cutting way back on sugary, creamy, and acidic beverages like soda, Star Bucks, and Energy Drinks.

 

[Roney]

Unfortunately there are no uninterrupted images of the Upper Right First Premolar where the tooth is not cut off. As stated before I can't diagnose based on x-rays and much less without an intact one. An important factor is swelling indicating infection and failing root canal. I do see cavities on Lower right and fracture or cavity on LL back molar. If you need root canal retreatment, I recommend going to a root-canal specialist (endodontist) because a lot of things can go wrong. However, it can get very costly. You may consider going to the dental school and maybe faculty practice where there are a lot of resources to meet your needs. Consider cutting way back on sugary, creamy, and acidic beverages like soda, Star Bucks, and Energy Drinks.

Thank you so much for your reply.
On your opinion based on this xray does teeth number 18 needs a filing or is it broken and needs an olnay?

(Dentist who did the xray said posterior composite and second opinion said teeth is broken and needs an onlay)
Thanks in advance for your professional opinion

 

[honestdoc]

Only seeing the x-ray, #18 can do a filling (cheaper & less traumatic). The filling won't be as strong as an onlay (crown) which is more expensive. You have an existing large silver filling on #18. After any work on the tooth, it may feel more cold sensitive.

 

[Roney]

Wow your advice is so helpful
I can't thank you enough

 

[Roney]

Where is your dental office?

 

[honestdoc]

Where is your dental office?

Pacific NW

 

[Roney]

Pacific NW

Ah got it. that's to far away from my area unfortunately

 

[honestdoc]

Ah got it. that's to far away from my area unfortunately

In the 70's, we lived in Yonkers for 4 yrs while my dad completed his medical residency in Manhattan. I missed the pizza.