The First Endodontics Expert said a Root Canal would be impossible- the second one did one effectively- HOW?

[Knoblook]

After a five-day toothache, I went to my Dentist for an exam. He told me that I would need a root canal. He referred me to a well-respected Doctor of Endodontics near my home. After spending about $500 for a number of XRays and an extensive evaluation she told me that my tooth did not have enough bone connected to it and likely had a crack in the root, which would make a root canal impossible. She suggested an Oral Surgeon nearby to extract the tooth and start the process to get an implant.

The tooth had a crown on it and was an upper molar.

I returned to my family Dentist and asked him what he thought and he said that the Root Canal Expert made a convincing case for extraction of the problem tooth and thought a root canal would be impossible. I asked for a referral to another expert just to make sure. A second opinion.

My Dentist referred me to the top Doctor of Endodontics in the area. He had the most positive reviews online of any Endodontics Professional in the area. It involved a long drive and a $2000 payment out of pocket because he did not accept dental insurance. The next expert in root canals told me there was no reason that it would not be successful and did not understand the other experts' concerns. He did the Root Canal and that tooth has been fine for over a year.

I came so close to just accepting the advice of the first doctor of Endodontics and my family Dentist and would have had to have the problem tooth extracted and spend $5000 on an implant.

Is this common that one expert will tell the patient to extract the tooth and other another will successfully do a root canal?

 

[Dr M]

Good day

It's difficult to give an opinion on this case, due to a lack of information. The difference in opinion could be due to the level of training. Were they both endodontic specialists? Do you have any x-rays to share? Could be that the first "expert" only took normal x-rays, where the second expert had access to a CBCT or microscope. There are a lot of factors that could influence the difference in opinions.

 

[Knoblook]

Both were highly regarded endodontic specialists
Sorry no Xrays
Both took #D XRays and regular Xrays too
Both used CBCT and Microscopes in their practice.

Always get a second opinion when they tell you to extract a tooth.