Question about a broken tooth

"Jim's wife" wrote in message et...
One of my molars broke apart and I am having dentist take care of it
(crown/root canal) in a week or two. But right now it is chipped and the
big silver filling is exposed. Once in a while I can feel another piece of
tooth chipping away. Hole getting bigger. There is a funny taste in there,
could this be the filling? Could the raw filling being exposed cause any
mercury leakage/poisoning? I am breastfeeding and am concerned.

Thanks for your advice

Not to scare you, but be careful before you get a root canal on a
broken tooth. I had a miserable experience a few years ago with a
cracked molar which resulted in 6 root canals, an apicoectomy,
extraction, dry socket, and eventual implant- 12 months of pain, drugs
and lots of bills. My big mistake was allowing a regular dentist to
do the first root canal- regular dentists do not have the specialized
equipment that an endodontist has, and can miss roots and cause
problems. Ultimately, after a lot of money and pain trying to save
the tooth, I found out that if it is cracked below the gum, there is
no way to save it.

My suggestion would be to see an endodontist and or an oral surgeon to
try to find out how severe the crack is BEFORE allowing your regular
dentist, no matter how much you trust him/her, to do a root canal.

I'm no dentist, and I don't know your situation, but if I had to do
it again, I would have simply pulled the tooth when it started to
hurt, wait 6 months, and had an implant. Implants can be expensive
(around 500$) but are actually much less painful than a root canal,
and now- 3 years later- I can't tell the difference between it and a
normal tooth. Extraction is also relatively painless. Especially if
you are trying to avoid drugs now.

Good luck, and I hope things turn out well for you.

Jess