Second Molars: To Pull or Not to Pull

[geomiklas]

I have a decision to make whether to have a root canal and a crown or to remove the lower second molar. Does anybody have experience and can tell me if removing the second molar will or will not affect my embouchure and tone? How will it affect high chops (Bydlo)/ low chops (Wagner)?

[gwwilk]

I would highly recommend the root canal and crown. I had such a procedure performed on my left lower 2nd molar 30+ years ago. While the procedure wasn't comfortable, the end result has been excellent. If you extract the tooth you're going to have to have a bridge in place of it in order to avoid subsequent migration of the adjacent teeth with all of the problems this would entail.

[Ace]

I would highly recommend the root canal and crown. I had such a procedure performed on my left lower 2nd molar 30+ years ago. While the procedure wasn't comfortable, the end result has been excellent. If you extract the tooth you're going to have to have a bridge in place of it in order to avoid subsequent migration of the adjacent teeth with all of the problems this would entail.

This. +

Ace

[paulver]

If it's "original equipment"......... keep it as long as you can!!

[bort]

If it's "original equipment"......... keep it as long as you can!!

I liked my dentist's advice -- if you wait, you're just waiting for pain. And when the pain starts, it still takes the same 2 weeks to get the crown fitted, get the root canal, crown gets made, etc. Do it now, or do it later. I vote for now, while there's nowhere to play anyway.

[Doug Elliott]

I had an upper 2nd molar removed and not replaced several years ago, because it was cracked and broke. Made absolutely no difference to my playing or anything else. I don't have wisdom teeth (removed as a teenager) so it was the back tooth, and my dentist said if you're going to lose a tooth that's the one and you'll never miss it.

I also saved a lot of money.

Decades ago I had an unsuccessful root canal in another cracked molar, and had to have that pulled too. I don't miss that either.

I take excellent care of my teeth but have had a couple crack over the years from accidentally biting into cherry and olive pits, or ice. I usually don't really know what caused it.

[MaryAnn]

I opted for removing a dead tooth (there is no way I am going to keep a dead tooth in my mouth) and getting a flipper. It's the tooth right next to the "two front teeth." It did not affect my embouchure in any way. Dead teeth cannot be sterilized no matter what they say; I could have gotten a bridge, which would have involved grinding down two perfectly good teeth to put foreign matter permanently in my mouth, or I could have opted for an implant, which would have put a toxic metal (titanium) into my mouth. It has been ten years and I am perfectly happy wearing my flipper (it's like a retainer with a tooth) when I feel I need to look "normal" in social situations.

And remember, I am a horn player and it does not affect that embouchure either, with that tiny cup compared to a tuba cup.

[Rick F]

Not a second molar, but I had a lower left first molar pulled back in 1971. I was just out of the military and newly married. It cost $12 to yank it and over $300 for root canal and crown (boy, I'm dating myself). Didn't cause any problems with embouchure but after nearly 50 years the tooth above it has dropped down around 1/8 inch or so. Looking back on it I wish I had spent the money to have the root canal and crown.

[GC]

After years of discomfort with a second molar that had a gold crown and later a root canal, I pulled the trigger and had it removed, and it was instant relief. An older gold crown did not wear down as the teeth around it did, so it was higher than the teeth around it. It was painful every time I closed my teeth toward the end. There was no more room to grind it down to match, so it had to go. After it healed and I got used to not biting down with hard food over the gap, I've had no problems.

I recently had a tooth crowned on the other side. They made a ceramic crown in the office, I got to watch it being made on a neat little milling machine, and was done in three hours, totally painlessly. In the event this crown cracks or fails, I can get a new one in a couple of hours. Modern dentistry is so far removed from the practices of just a few decades ago that it's almost scary.

[paulver]

A clarification to my post on the molars......... My opinion is still to keep the originals as long as you can. That said, OBVIOUSLY....... if there is pain, severe discomfort, an infection, or some other serious issue, then get it fixed or pull the tooth!! I've been in situations where the pain was so bad, that I almost begged the dentist to yank it out!! I've had more root canals than I care to remember, and I have several caps, too.

I grew up in an era, and area, where tooth care was not always affordable or practiced. And..... farm well water didn't have fluoride.

I'd do things quite differently if I had the chance to go back in time, but I was fortunate enough to get a good education, a good job, and good insurance as an adult. Been taking care of them ever since!

Do what's right for you!!