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Shannon! asked in HealthDental · 10 years ago

I chipped my tooth!? Dentist now or wait?

It's a jaw tooth that is apparently breaking down because my dentist never completed the root canal (they moved, didn't say anything and they destroyed the crown they had ordered for me after we finally tracked them down. Needless to say, I was pissed.)

But now I'm away at school and it's a 5-6 hour drive home from school. There are dentists here, but my family's insurance won't cover the complete costs and I don't have the cash to pay to have the root canal finished. Plus, by the time the permanent crown is made and ready, I won't be in town. So, should I wait until break in about a month to get it fixed? It's not hurting at all and I plan on brushing an extra time or two during the day to compensate.The piece that broke off is small and there's a filling there, so it's not just dentin that's being exposed because that was all removed when I got the partial root canal.

Update:

Well, the dentist did everything but put a crown on it. Apparently, they were out of temporary crowns for the specific tooth so there's just a metal filling covering the hole. It looks like a regular tooth with a filling. They never filed it down because they didn't have a temporary crown to put on top and it would've take a couple of weeks to get the permanent one (they had to clear it with my insurance company, then process the order, I guess). My mother's making me an appointment to go over Thanksgiving Break in November and is going to see if it is at all possible to order a permanent crown ASAP so it's ready to put on either over Thanksgiving Break or two weeks after for Christmas Break.

2 Answers

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  • 10 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    You should be able to wait. If the filling is still covering the hole, thus the root canal access hole is closed, and you're asymptomatic, you should be ok. However, you have made a confusing statement. Crowns are only ordered after the root canal is sealed up, which is called a completed root canal treatment. What is unfinished is the crown. I assume it is over four months since you have been to the dentist, one more month will probably not change much. If you really think the canal treatment is unfinished, call and ask your dentist. That makes a difference.

  • 10 years ago

    I wouldn't wait just because there is no pain doesn't mean there isn't infection there.

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