General dentists these days are much more prepared at doing all sorts of specialized procedures. Dental technology has advanced so much since you had your root canals. But it comes down to how good a dentist a dentist is. A good general dentist wouldn't have a problem doing a root canal. Honestly I am not sure I'd consider the OPs dentist to be a good dentist.
General dentists these days are much more prepared at doing all sorts of specialized procedures. Dental technology has advanced so much since you had your root canals. But it comes down to how good a dentist a dentist is. A good general dentist wouldn't have a problem doing a root canal. Honestly I am not sure I'd consider the OPs dentist to be a good dentist.
So you think a regular dentist can do them now in a single one hour visit? That's a lot of specialized equipment to have on hand to do that. Along with the staff to do so.
When my ex-general dentist did them around 2000-2001, it was either 2 or 3 visits to complete, one hour each time.
The endodonist I had, did the whole procedure in a hour. He had two assistants and he had all the specialized equipment associated with doing root canals. And this was 5 years ago.
So you think a regular dentist can do them now in a single one hour visit? That's a lot of specialized equipment to have on hand to do that. Along with the staff to do so.
When my ex-general dentist did them around 2000-2001, it was either 2 or 3 visits to complete, one hour each time.
The endodonist I had, did the whole procedure in a hour. He had two assistants and he had all the specialized equipment associated with doing root canals. And this was 5 years ago.
Root canal, then extraction in 1-3 years. Everyone knows this.
A dentist is like a mechanic that will rebuild your engine. But do a poor job of it. Then tell you it's fucked and that you need a totally new one.
Of all my root canals I've had done, I have never had to have one extracted and the oldest one is going on 17-18 years. You may need a new crowns every 7-10 years though. Just depends on the crowns workmanship, the age at which you got the crown, and how well you take care of your gums.
'You didn't brush your teeth three times a day' is the dentist go-to excuse for their shitty work being shitty. Seriously, who the fuck brushes their teeth in the middle of the day?
While I'm sure there are competent dentists out there, most are just terrible, and it's really an awful thing to have to deal with. Not to mention 'dental assistants,' who, along with pharmacy techs, are probably the #1 'Devry told me I would make lots of money if I went to school for this' profession.
Ugh.
My dentist's recent assistant seemed pretty incompetent. She had a hard time placing the pallets in my mouth for the xray. Then she couldn't line up the machine with the palettes to take the picture. The dentist came in and asked her to take more xrays and my mouth was sore as all hell.
After my cleaning she was given the task to polish my teeth. I think she was just lazy. She took this little electric toothbrush thing and began the procedure. Then she would stop and look at the tool, turn it on and off, place it on my teeth again and then she was like oh I can't your in too much pain. It's not going to work.
I was not in any pain I had no clue what she was talking about. Which is why I'm gonna go to this endodontist and not back to my dentist for this big process even though my dentist could possibly do everything including a crown.
I feel the same way. A good dentist is so hard to find that doesn't charge you up the ass. I had one guy try to talk me into a deep cleaning for $1000 out of pocket when I went in cause my gums would bleed sometimes when brushing.
Seriously, who the fuck brushes their teeth in the middle of the day?
I do and I also floss after even a snack. I floss with the the easy to carry flossers so I can even do it at my desk. Getting a wisdom tooth extraction and molar root canal with a full crown sure as hell changed my dental habits. You only have one set of teeth so take care of them as best as you can.
I am the same way now. I got an infection on my top wisdom tooth and I wanted to get it extracted. It's gonna cost me $450 out of pocket just for that one tooth. It doesn't hurt or bother me so I make sure I clean and brush that area every time now.
You may wish to see a specialist called an Endodontist. I have had 2 root canals and the one by the Endo was painless and well done.
Turns out the infection after it was cleaned from the molar spread through my cheek and in to my face. I had a huge pimple like abscess on my face. Had to go to an oral surgeon right away to get it cut and drained. Now I have a wick or some crap going through my face to let it drain.
Tooth is fine though and no pain anymore.
Keep an eye on the infection. What happens is pressure will build up and you will have a bump on your top jaw line like I do on the bottom jaw.
Eventually the longer you wait the infection eats at your jaw bone. Mine is already in the bone a bit but they cleaned it out and left medicine in the area and in the canals. Now the bump has gotten bigger on my chin one day after the root canal.
Edit: You mentioned wisdom tooth, they are useless anyway. You should be fine but do have it looked at regularly to see where the infection is going.
They just gave me anti-biotics and did a cleaning and it went away. I don't have any leftover bumps or anything.
For the past 4-5 years I became a once a day brusher in the morning only. Now I'm making a conscious effort to brush twice a day, floss, and rinse with listerine.