I get what you mean about the whole trust thing. I had a root canal on one of my molars last year and my dentist was really pushing for a crown right away. Honestly, I hesitated because, wow, those things are expensive and I was trying to figure out if it was really necessary or just a “nice to have.” I kept asking if a filling would do the trick, but she said the tooth would be too weak.
I went with the crown in the end, but I still wonder—do they always make you get one, or is it just a default thing? Has anyone here actually skipped the crown and been fine? Part of me feels like dentists automatically suggest the pricier option. I also worried about biting down at first, especially after spending so much, but eventually it felt normal. Still, I’m curious if anyone’s just done the root canal and left it at that... or is that just asking for trouble down the road?
I totally get the hesitation—crowns are a huge hit to the wallet. I remember feeling like my dentist was just upselling me too, but after way too much Googling and panicking, I found out molars especially are more likely to crack if you skip the crown. I’ve heard of people just doing a filling, but honestly, most of them ended up with broken teeth later and needed even more work. It’s frustrating how expensive it is, but I’d rather bite down without worrying my tooth will just shatter one day...
That’s pretty much how I felt—like the dentist was just trying to squeeze more money out of me. But I kept hearing stories from friends who tried to save cash by skipping the crown and just doing a filling, and a couple of them ended up regretting it big time. One guy actually broke his tooth on a tortilla chip, of all things... Not fun.
I do wonder if it depends on which tooth needs the crown though? My dentist was adamant about covering my back molar but seemed less concerned about front teeth. Maybe it’s because we use our molars for all the heavy chewing? The price is still brutal, but I figured I’d rather pay once than risk paying even more for an implant down the road.
Has anyone ever had a front tooth root canal and NOT done a crown? I’m curious if that’s ever worked out long-term.
