I have been told different things by two dentists. Who do I believe?

Q. Dear Dr Tennet I am at so so confused. I had a root canal treatment on my first premolar about 2 years ago. I didnt have a crown. Needless to say the remaining tooth broke after a year, first on the back. then at the front a year later. The embedded remaining piece which I assume being the filling, was loose. I had a white filling, I also had posts placed into my root canals. I first went to a dentist who said that nothing could be done in terms of having a crown, as what was left had been fractured, pointing to and showing me the loose bit that I myself earlier had discovered. Because of this the dentist recomended either an extraction, and the option between a bridge, denture or implant. I then went to another dentist, who said that I could have a crown fixed onto the tooth/ remaining piece even though this was a loose piece. I have really no idea what to do and who to believe and would really appriciate your help. Thank you, Kind Regards,
A. Dear It appears that you are in a difficult situation. Conflicting advice is a problem. I will explain how we manage similar cases. 1. we crown or cover almost all teeth we root fill. This follows the advice of the various specialist endodontic societies around the world. Root treated teeth that are crowned have significantly better survival rates. 2. If a tooth splits it depends on the angle of the split , remaining tooth etc. in most cases the situation can be argued both ways. the right answer for the individual depends on your attitude to risk, the cost and the possible effect on a future treatment. When we have discussed this we either crown or extract. My personal thoughts tend towards keeping teeth that are likely to survive at least 5 years, and extracting and replacing with an implant the others because the money saved by not attempting over heroic salvage work typically gives you about 1/3 deposit on the implant costs. I would be happy to do a free initial clinical assessment at StJohns Dental in Birmingham . Call for details. regards Rob
Dr Rob Tennet St Johns Dental Practice 18 Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham, B2 5QJ Web: www.e-dentalpractice.co.uk

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