Ughh Root canal or dental implant

[Anonymous]

I had a lot of tooth pain after having a crown put on a molar and the dentist who looked at the tooth said that I need to make a choice between a root canal or an implant. I am finding it impossible to move forward and make a decision.

I'm struggling with the decision so much that I'm doing nothing and am still in pain. I am terrified of going through the process of the implant but the dentist said that it could happen that while getting the root canal the doctor decides that I need an implant. Going through both procedures and paying for both also hurts.

I feel sick. Any advice would be appreciated. A root canal sounds horrible but a dental implant sounds like absolute torture.

[Anonymous]

I had a root canal years ago and, honestly, it was relatively painless. Mine was a premolar, and the pain was the next day from holding my jaw open for so long -- it would probably be worse for a molar, in your case. But the actual root canal itself involved liberal use of novocaine, and didn't hurt at all.

For reasons unrelated to the root canal, a couple years later I had the tooth pulled, a bone graft, and an implant. Those procedures were more painful than the root canal, the recovery was worse. But now, the implant is several years old and fine. Never any pain or problem from it.

I can't advise you about the root canal or implant, just sharing my experience with both.

[Anonymous]

100% root canal here. Losing a tooth is VERY emotional. And even if you have to have a root canal and crown, it's better than a fully foreign implant tooth.

My root canal didn't hurt at all. Medicine is awesome.