My g/f just broke off a piece of her molar. She already had a root canal done on that tooth and had a temporary filling (been there for awhile). If she can't get a crown in the next month of so, is she in trouble?

Would this happen in Canada?

Anyway, my (absolutely non-expert) opinion is that a month will not make a difference.

What does Canada have to do with it? You have to pay for your own crowns.

I’ve had 2 molars pulled because I didn’t get them crowned soon enough. She should do what she can get it taken care of asap.

I think at the least, get another temp filling put in. An old friend who just happens to be a dentist always says, it never gets better by itself!

What does Canada have to do with it?

In the US, dental insurance is not guaranteed and generally skimpy.

I suspect it might be better in Canada.

It’s hard to know as further breakage could occur at any time with no way to predict.

If further damage causes the tooth to fracture the wrong way and split lengthwisr then your looking at an extraction.

Listen to FutureMemory as the voice of experience here. It could happen 28 days from now or 6 months from now.

As Clint Eastwood (as Dirty Harry) said “Are you feeling lucky, punk? Well do ya ?”

She is in trouble indeed. Sad to say, but when a person cannot afford full treatment of a root canaled tooth, the best thing is to pull the tooth. A root canal means the tooth has no blood supply and no innervation. It is like a dead tree branch, very brittle. It must be crowned. Two years is a very long time for a temporary fillling. Some of the worst infections I’ve ever seen have been in teeth like these. If it is an upper tooth, the danger is particularly great because the sinuses communicate with the roots of upper molars. It can lead to meningitis and brain infections. Dental infections are notoriously hard to treat. After this length of time, there is usually nothing left to crown. She needs to go in and get it pulled. It has been too long.

@jaytkay Dental care is not part of Medicare in Canada (except for children). We arrange our own dental insurance, which is usually offered by the employer or school. Consequently, I also have friends who are saving up to put crowns in.

@dappled_leaves Thank you, I was jumping to a conclusion, thank you for the correction.

When I had a root canal without insurance, my dentist let me pay in installments. They didn’t advertise it, but they were very accommodating when I asked.

Speaking from experience, she should see an endodontist as soon as possible.

It has never occurred to me that the government should pay for my dental work????

It has never occurred to me that the government should pay for my dental work????

How about insurance pays for your dental work? “Government” health care is simply insurance..

I pay for my own insurance, which does now include some dental. For most of my life my health insurance which I funded myself did not cover any dental so I simply paid my own bills. I never expected the government to pay for me.

Do you understand now?

No, rooey. Government health insurance is simply insurance. Just like your private health insurance. Except without Wall Street skimming off a huge percentage. And the larger insurance pool makes it less expensive.

jaytkay, what are you talking about??? I said I never expected the government to pay my dental bills, I had my own insurance. I don’t know what point you are trying to make.

@jaytkay she is in australia it’s totally different system and she’s privately insured it sounds like. The goverment healthcare does not include dentistry except for children. Never has

@rooeytoo Government health insurance is not free – we pay for it with our taxes. And we are happy to do so.

Yep that is true for those of us who pay taxes. The health care system here is better than nothing but capitalism still reigns, the better doctors/dentists don’t bulk bill. You have to go where you can and wait until they have time for you. I pay for my own private health insurance every month.

I guess it all depends upon your age. My parents and grandparents payed their own health care and dental costs. The taxes they paid built roads and bridges, infrastructure is the word in favor at the moment.

Whenever I hear someone saying the government should pay this and provide that, I think of JFK and his speech, ask not what your country can do for you, rather what you can do for your country.

I don’t think of it in terms of “the government should provide X for me”, the way I keep hearing American conservatives talk about it. It’s not a gift. There are some very basic services that every person in the country needs on some level, and in a large country you can assume that some proportion will not be able to provide those services for themselves, for any number of reasons. So it makes sense for the government to organize those services, which we all then pay for to the degree that we can, and everyone benefits.

@dappled_leaves LOL, “the way American conservatives talk about it” That’s what we say about liberals!
he hehehe!

Let’s all blame the other guy!

@snowberry No… I think you misunderstood me. I just meant that I am forever hearing American conservatives say that liberals want the government to provide everything. That is not actually how I think about it, and I would guess that most liberals do not think that way either. It is a misrepresentation.