I am 55 years old and have a bottom back molar that has a large filling. The tooth has recently cracked and is very sensitive to cold. My dentist suggests a crown, but I have had several crowns and hate to go through the process again and hate to go to the expense. What is the disadvantage to having the tooth pulled? It is the farthest back tooth on the bottom left.

You might also need a root canal.

If you have the dental insurance and/or money to invest, save the tooth. You didn't mention the condition of your other teeth and how many are missing. I hate to lose a tooth and will save it if I can.

The downside is that your gums will recede there, chewing may become more difficult for nuts and such like, and the tooth that matches it on top will begin to "travel".

My dentist does sedation and could do something like this in two visits, even with the root canal. Are there any good dentists who use sedation out your way?

I would go to pull it perosnally

It depends if you use that tooth for chewing. Is there a tooth directly above it? If there is and you have the lower tooth removed the upper tooth will start to over-erupt and may also need to be removed in the future. If the tooth that needs the crown is a wisdom tooth, get rid of it and if there is an upper wisdom tooth directly above it, get rid of it too!

I agree with Flossie and the others about saving the tooth to prevent traveling. But, if you have a financial difficulty, I would get the tooth pulled. Crowns can be very expensive. If it were me, and the tooth could not be seen when I smile, I would pull it. It's a lot cheaper to go that route. You just got to weigh out your pros and cons. What's most important to you?

If money were not a big issue, I'd go with the crown.

Due to a childhood accident in which I had three teeth knocked out...
I had crowns and bridge... for 25 years before the tooth had to come out due to crystalization and absess... then the dentist who tried to do a root canal to save it, broke off the drill bit inside of the root, fractured it beyond saving, and refused to see me again... I had to go see a dental surgeon to remove it... but having those crowns was so much nicer than false teeth!

Not having $ means taking the most affordable option... but again I think it would be worth scrimping in other areas if it doesn't mean losing the house or car... that type of situation...

flossie disagrees: It's a lot more costly to replace teeth that have been removed once you realize how much you miss them.

The poster said she needed to weigh pros and cons! And the person agreed with you in the opening sentence!

A little trigger happy with the disagree button.

I've had crowns and bridges. Glad to have them.

Long term, missing teeth can lead to traveling, as mentioned. I don't think you'll miss it for chewing, given where it is... I had two teeth pulled, 2nd and 3rd to back, and it was "empty" for two years until I was able to get the bridge in...

At the time, I was able to compensate fine for the gaps.. now that I have the bridge, I'm glad I have the space again for eating...

Talk to your dentist... how are the rest of your teeth. You mention you've had several crowns... long term what does he/she see your health being? Are these probably going to fail too? Are there other issues here? Given your history, what's the liklihood you are going to need partials?

While I think getting a crown is best when you can, pulling a tooth is a cheap option, even if not best. And I think it can be different if you are 25 versus 55 depending on what the dentist thinks your dental future is going to be.

flossie disagrees: It's a lot more costly to replace teeth that have been removed once you realize how much you miss them.

Flossie,
There are so many people who do not have dental insurance to cover getting a crown. (That may or may not be the case with this particular person.) But when you're in a situation that needs immediate attention, you got to do what you got to do. Without insurance, an extraction is much much cheaper than paying for a crown out of pocket. I was only offering options to this person. If it were me and I didn't have the money for a crown and the tooth was not visible when I smile, I would pull it. In the future, I could always get a bridge or implant.
Thank you.

FLOSSIE,
Why do you keep disagreeing with me when I am only stating my OPINION and not FACTS? Gosh, Leave me Alone!!

Hmm I think you should pull out the teeth,its cheaper and easier and its your last teeth .having a crown is more expensive and as you said you don't want to go through putting on the crown again,bdw if you have a little bit of teeth stick with the crown,after all once you pull it out you can't get bak your teeth

ttara81,

I'm sorry if you feel that I am picking on you. I am stating my opinion too (with many years of dental experience). I hate to see people lose teeth unless there is absolutely nothing that can be done to save them. People who appreciate their health will do whatever is necessary. And before you get angry at me again... I'm NOT saying that you don't appreciate YOUR health :)

If the tooth needs pulled, then by all means pull it. Having to spend a zillion dollars on a lost cause trying to "save" a tooth once the thing is cracked is not going to make her feel any better when she has spent a lot of money only to find out it must come out after all.

The main thing here is how are the roots of the tooth? How about the gums? How is the jaw bone structure as well. If she has significant bone loss in that area having a crown would be throwing her money away as the root is just going to come lose and she will have the tooth practically fall out on its own.

Flossie, I sure wish you would have paid for all my dental bills when I was trying to save my teeth. You'd have to have been filthy rich. A lot of my teeth could not be saved no matter HOW much money I poured into my mouth. So your comment about "people who appreciate their health(?) will do whatever is necessary". What does health have to do with teeth other than hygiene.

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Originally Posted by twinkiedooter

What does health have to do with teeth other than hygeine.

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I think it's called dental health... not having them can lead to physical or mental problems if not dealt with properly.

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Originally Posted by shellybear

What is the disadvantage to having the tooth pulled? It is the farthest back tooth on the bottom left.

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This was the question I answered in my first reply to shellybears post. I answered according to information she provided.

Teeth have a lot to do with ones overall health. There have recently been many links to systemic health and oral health. When teeth are missing it causes teeth to overerupt and drift making homecare more difficult which can lead to periodontal disease.

I've decided to pull my cracked tooth. It has no decay but has cracked. I think I did it eating popcorn... no more of that! It's an upper molar and not in my smile. The dentist told me ALL dentistry is considered temporary. So why would I go through all that misery and wallet diving to have to replace in in 3, 10... years. Well, that is what really made my deicsion. My mother and brother, oddly, have also both cracked this same tooth. We all have nice teeth and things just happen, I guess. They both had theirs pulled and don't regret it. I'm next.