i got to have one, which is best?

Go with Implants, there is a lot of debate regarding root canal. Some experts say root canal does not work and it is definitely an over used procedure.

Root canals can get real expensive.  I have a tooth in my jaw that cost me about $3,500.00 SO FAR including the root canal that excavated about 65% of the tooth, plus a high dollar crown.  

They are relatively painless if the doctor uses his anesthetics properly.

If I had it to do again though, knowing what I know now, I would go with the implant.

what does an implant cost, and i heard that the gums might not look right around the implant, true?

I thought a root canal was a given..  wether you get the implant or a crown..

i'd recommend the implants...from what i hear they feel like the real thing(s). much more fun than a root canal anyway.

Yeah root canals suck, You'd be better off spending the money on implants for the wife.

If you get an implant they merely extract the original tooth, then pack the hole with grafting material to promote bone growth into the open spaces.  Next they drill a hole in that bone and emplace a stainless steel post that will serve as the base for the implant. The implant is bedded onto the post. The whole process probably takes 6 months to a year.

Radical dental prosthetic procedures can cause some other issues of course.  My massive crown traps bits of food between the crown and the gum...this promotes flossing though to get that nasty crap out before it begins to irritate the gum. The crown itself looks better than the teeth around it.

If cost is not an issue, go with the implant.

I have had a number of root canals. One I had done with no anethesia at all, I didnt' feel a thing because the nerve was totally dead. Another one I had on a molar I felt even thru the anethesia, so it varies depending on the condition of the nerves being removed.

I would think if you were having in implant you would skip the root canal and simply have the tooth extracted?

anybody know a good link on this subject?

Have the tooth pulled!  I have had 2 root canals and both eventually became infected and caused me no end of grief, never again! Instead of the implants you can get a bridge made which for me worked just fine. Took only a couple of trips to the Dr. and in my opinion is a better way to go.  FORGET ROOT CANAL!

I'm surprised we don't have any Dentists on board here dolling out advice…

[b]HEY YOU!  Yeah, the one too stupid for medical or veterinary school.  The one who irritated or shamed your affluent Mommy and Daddy into paving your way down to some shithole Central American diploma mill.  The place where you went and hacked away at severed human heads everyday for two years so you could "earn" the title: [I]Doctor[/I].[/b]

What's worse: root canal, implants, or the prospect of leering at your masked face out of the corner of my eye hour after agonizing hour?

(i think i might have a slight problem with dentists)

I have experienced BOTH.
I had two root canals when I was 12 years old (had an accident and slammed into the pavement) - One on the top tooth and one on the bottom tooth.  The bottom tooth was shattered (partly due to the braces I was wearing) and the top tooth was placed back into position and both got root canals.  However, the bottom tooth needed a crown and since it was shattered they added a steel post to secure it.  The top tooth (and its neigboring teeth that were also reinserted) grew darker over time.  If you do not want a dark tooth then you need a crown.  Seventeen years later, I crowned the top tooth.  The gums are different around the crown.  I have NEVER (knock-on-wood) had a problem with the bottom crown.  However, I have knocked off the top crown several times in the past few years since I had it installed!  Top teeth are harder to hold onto a crown because the angle of the bite knocks it up and out whereas the bottom knocks down and in.

He's an anti-Dentite.

If you get a nice set of implants, none of the guys will care what your teeth look like.

We are talking about the same thing, right? [shock]

What is a dentist-some one who flunked med school,what is a lawyer-someone who flunked dental school.

If you have bone desease forget about it get dentures,if not implant.   Its your call,and your monies get a good secound opp.

 Bob [8D]

A well-done root canal is superior, by far. Never give-up part of yourself for a piece of titanium. Normally, your teeth are placed in their sockets with a joint-like ligament. Why? Cuz, you want stress relief (for both the tooth in question and the tooth in the opposing arch). An "osseointegrated" implant cannot match this mechanically, since they are in close contact with bone. The Branemark system I used to know supposedly used Titanium for this reason, but I think the osseointegration story has not held true. Most dentists would opt for a root canal first, and the implant second. Obviously, I'm giving you generalities here; but usually, dentists will try to follow a certain logical sequence of treatments, putting the least invasive procedures first.

Your question reminds me of the old days, when patients used to ask me whether they should get dentures or try to keep their teeth. Well... I tried to maintain the quality of their lives, and no way was a hunk of plastic and porcelain going to serve them better than the original... no matter how many restorations the original needed.

If you think the implant will free you from problems, guess again. Your problems will be magnified.

But if you chose to line some dentist's pocket with your $$$, go ahead, get the implant (although most dentist would not recommend an implant for a single tooth replacement -- I suspect you're considering a bridge abutment??)

Regardless, I'd go with the endodontic approach FIRST. It is FAR LESS INVASIVE.

Edit - Bobbyjack... I'm on the admissions committee of a prominent dental school and we never take med school drop-outs. We also try to keep-out anyone that plays the acoustic guitar... Don't ask me why. LOL!!!

:-)

Dolomite -- I just read your comments. LOL

SuperAlpha -- what you're describing is not an implant. An implant is a two step procedure. For example, the system I used involved exposing bone, drilling into bone, placing a screw-like implant, then covering it over, completely, with the flapped tissues. The second step was after bone had a chance to grow around the implant. The implant was surgically exposed and a restoration or base was fitted into it. This procedure usually would succeed, but I'd still rather first do a root canal.

WHAT?

Maybe some exploratory drilling would be in order....but don't go to Dr. DeWalt or Dr. Makita.