tooth #3, I had a root canal last September.
Leaving it as is for several months (bad idea,
I know), I finally got fitted for a crown.

The dentist found further decay (caries, I guess),
and tried to clean it out. He said he "followed it",
and drilled until faced with entering the root,
which would mean losing the tooth. So he
stopped there, getting 90% of the decay (his
estimate). Then he capped it with some white
filing, and now I have the crown.

He said the filling and crown would hopefully
deprive the bacteria of oxygen, preventing
further decay.

Anybody have any experience with such
a situation? Prognosis?



--
Rich

tooth #3, I had a root canal last September.
Leaving it as is for several months (bad idea,
I know), I finally got fitted for a crown.

The dentist found further decay (caries, I guess),
and tried to clean it out. He said he "followed it",
and drilled until faced with entering the root,
which would mean losing the tooth. So he
stopped there, getting 90% of the decay (his
estimate). Then he capped it with some white
filing, and now I have the crown.

He said the filling and crown would hopefully
deprive the bacteria of oxygen, preventing
further decay.

Anybody have any experience with such
a situation? Prognosis?



--
Rich

tooth #3, I had a root canal last September.
Leaving it as is for several months (bad idea,
I know), I finally got fitted for a crown.

The dentist found further decay (caries, I guess),
and tried to clean it out. He said he "followed it",
and drilled until faced with entering the root,
which would mean losing the tooth. So he
stopped there, getting 90% of the decay (his
estimate). Then he capped it with some white
filing, and now I have the crown.

He said the filling and crown would hopefully
deprive the bacteria of oxygen, preventing
further decay.

Anybody have any experience with such
a situation?

I'm not understanding why all the decay wasn't
removed. Ordinarily, one might leave minimal caries
at the base of a cavity preparation if it
is thought removing the last bit of decay will expose the
pulp. This is called an indirect pulp cap.

But you've already had the root canal done.
I can only guess--perhaps removing the decay
would lead to a root perforation--
perhaps in the furcation between the roots. If so,
I wouldn't think the tooth would
have a great prognosis.

But I'm only guessing here--
I'd have to see the tooth, and/or an x-ray.

On May 5, Steven Bornfeld <dentaltwinm... at (no spam) earthlink.net> wrote:
tooth #3, I had a root canal last September.
Leaving it as is for several months (bad idea,
I know), I finally got fitted for a crown.
The dentist found further decay (caries, I guess),
and tried to clean it out. He said he "followed it",
and drilled until faced with entering the root,
which would mean losing the tooth. So he
stopped there, getting 90% of the decay (his
estimate). Then he capped it with some white
filing, and now I have the crown.
He said the filling and crown would hopefully
deprive the bacteria of oxygen, preventing
further decay.
Anybody have any experience with such
a situation?

I'm not understanding why all the decay wasn't
removed. Ordinarily, one might leave minimal caries
at the base of a cavity preparation if it
is thought removing the last bit of decay will expose the
pulp. This is called an indirect pulp cap.

I'm not sure, I can only report what he
told me: drilling further - "following the
decay" - would threaten the tooth.

But you've already had the root canal done.
I can only guess--perhaps removing the decay
would lead to a root perforation--
perhaps in the furcation between the roots. If so,
I wouldn't think the tooth would
have a great prognosis.

It's probably something like that.
The prognosis is poor because of the
decay left behind? The bacteria is
anaerobic? The tooth will rot completely,
even without oxygen?

What is a furcation?

But I'm only guessing here--
I'd have to see the tooth, and/or an x-ray.

Of course, no one expects actual
diagnosis when he comes here with
such questions. What I'm looking for,
is the spectrum of possibilities, given
the data; A to C, or A to G, or A to N...

Or, in some cases, there may be
hesitation regarding the dentist's
recommendation. Then, the question
becomes whether his opinion seems
plausible, under the described
circumstances. If it sounds fishy, one
might consider seeking a second opinion.


Thank you for your time.

--
Rich