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Looking for info on choosing a Cosmetic Dentist?

    Re: ??? price of Root. C vs. implant

    Posted by cs on 9/7/2009, 5:41 pm, in reply to "??? price of Root. C vs. implant"

    Hi, Tracey . . .

    Sounds like you are trying to decide between an implant . . . and a root canal + crown — strictly on the basis of cost.

    If so, I hope you will stop and reconsider.

    I'm not a dental professional — but based on what little I know (as both a root canal + crown patient and an implant recipient), they are not necessarily interchangeable. So a decision based on the assumption that they are is like trying to decide between buying a bag of apples vs a bunch of bananas.

    Both are fruits and may be equally tasty, but depending on how you plan to use them, they won't necessarily meet your expectations equally well.

    In my experience, I've sometimes had a dentist recommend a root canal plus crown — usually to save a tooth that already has been filled several times. In some cases the tooth already was infected, so needed a root canal to treat that — but occasionally, it previously also had received multiple fillings, to the point that my dentist saw no point in trying that again.

    Instead, he recommended a crown along with root canal therapy, because in his professional experience, the process of preparing what was left of the tooth for the crown might traumatize it, and, as a result, the tooth might require a root canal after that crown was attached.

    In my experience, an implant has only been offered as one of two (or more options) for replacing either a missing tooth or one scheduled form extraction.

    The fact that you are debating between the costs of a crown vs an implant makes me wonder if your dentist has suggested that a crown might/might not not successfully save a natural tooth.

    If that's the case, my decision probably would be based on the likely outcome of the crown. If the prognosis is good, a crown + RCT could cost about 50% less than a routine implant.

    If you want to take a chance on crown + root canal and eventually it fails — you could end up spending 50% more (for an implant to replace the missing tooth).

    But on the upside, if the crown lasts for several years, advances in the dental industry might come up with even better solutions for a lower lost.

    So, ultimately, the real question might be: How much are you willing to risk? . . . If your dentist has recommended both a crown AND an implant, how confident is s/he that as crown will be successful? . . . If it fails, what other options has s/he offered?

    Responses:

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