The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: frugaliknowit on June 20, 2017, 07:59:21 AM
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Hello folks, I am hoping to get an honest answer from mustachian dentists or those who have their facts strait.
I am an older man with a troubling #18 tooth (at least my dentist says it's #18...it's all the way back on the left side/lower).
Maybe 10 years ago, I cracked the tooth with a stale protein bar. My dentist nursed it with fillings, then it was eventually "posted and crowned". Then about 2 years ago, it was root canaled (good up until now). Now, it needs to be pulled.
My inclination: Pull the sucker (requires oral surgeon due to the size of the tooth...), and leave it. I am not particularly concerned about my chewing ability.
My dentist says: If you pull it and leave it, the tooth above it will tend to grow into where the old tooth is. Also, it might adversely impact your jawline. Best to have implant surgery with a crown. BTW, my dentist does not do impants. I have some in the front, they have worked out well, but are freagin super expensive...
Is this a bunch of quackery/BS? Thanks.
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Hello folks, I am hoping to get an honest answer from mustachian dentists or those who have their facts strait.
I am an older man with a troubling #18 tooth (at least my dentist says it's #18...it's all the way back on the left side/lower).
Maybe 10 years ago, I cracked the tooth with a stale protein bar. My dentist nursed it with fillings, then it was eventually "posted and crowned". Then about 2 years ago, it was root canaled (good up until now). Now, it needs to be pulled.
My inclination: Pull the sucker (requires oral surgeon due to the size of the tooth...), and leave it. I am not particularly concerned about my chewing ability.
My dentist says: If you pull it and leave it, the tooth above it will tend to grow into where the old tooth is. Also, it might adversely impact your jawline. Best to have implant surgery with a crown. BTW, my dentist does not do impants. I have some in the front, they have worked out well, but are freagin super expensive...
Is this a bunch of quackery/BS? Thanks.
I was almost a dentist once (long/weird story), and your dentist is mostly correct. The teeth around it will settle a bit into the space, and your jawline may look odd (if you care about physical appearance, this should concern you).
The tooth moving into the space isn't a super huge deal if you have good oral hygiene and don't ever plan on replacing the tooth. If you decide in 10 years you want to replace the tooth (because your physical appearance looks odd/sunken), you will have BIGGER problems (because the tooth will be in the way).
Implants are expensive, but i usually try not to mess around with teeth.
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I'm a hygienist, not a dentist.
How are your teeth otherwise? Do you have periodontal disease or any other teeth with a questionable prognosis?
The tooth above it will grow down into the space since it will not be biting against anything. This happens slowly over time and varies person to person. The problem is that once the upper tooth extrudes, you'll end up with a food trap between that upper tooth and the tooth in front of it. Not only is that a nuisance, it will cause decay and will compromise your periodontal health around those teeth, potentially causing you to lose those other teeth.
If you're already susceptible to periodontal disease, I would do the implant. If you have great teeth otherwise, and this is the only problem tooth, you could probably get away with leaving the space alone. But the implant will be difficult to do down the road, so it's best to do it now if you're going to do it.