6 Cavities and a Root Canal?

I cant believe it. So I visited the dentist after I fragmented a chunk of my right 2nd bottom molar. Truthfully I haven't been to the dentist since I had my braces off 3 yrs ago. But 6 Cavities? and the broken tooth turned out to have decayed(needs root canal). On my mother's side, everyone has really bad teeth. It's the first to go after aging. Do you think vulnerability to cavities is genetic and if you did have root canal, does it hurt as bad as it's said to? =(

ps now I take extra time brushing AND flossing. I didn't get anything done to my teeth yet though~

The total for fixing my teeth came out to about 3000. I don't know how much normal visits cost, but do you think im overpaying? or is it a good deal.... I have never been to the dentistry before.

I am the pro with root canals and dental bills... your biggest chunk is the root canal, and the dentist will probably want to crown it which is another chunk. I didn't take care of my teeth before the age of 14... by 14 I had one root canal and several deep cavities. Oral heigine wasn't a topic in my family unfortunately. Now, I am fixing old bad work that was done during that time. To date I have 5 root canals done, one on the way and about 6 small cavities. My dentist says,... brush for 3 minutes after each meal, using a soft brush, floss every day, and rinse before bed. From now on, my teeth should be good. My mom's side appears to have bad teeth as well, but my grandmother has great teeth. So I say, maybe they have bad teeth but good oral heigine is a very important preventative measure. ROOT CANALS do not hurt if the dentist/specialist does them right. I have had no pain in any of my root canals but my dentist is also a licensed endodontist. If your dentist is not a licensed endodontist, I suggest you find one to do your root canal.

ouch.

i heard that the root canal hurts really bad. owie.. :[

Absolutely there is a genetic factor involved in having good or bad teeth. There is also what you are eating, how well you are cleaning your teeth, and how often you are having checkups and professional cleanings.
Most of my patients sleep through root canals. All of my patients are comfortable through a root canal, because if they aren't, I refreeze them and make sure they are frozen. I also don't do root canals on infected teeth. i will clean up an infection with an antibiotic first and then do the root canal.
If they hurt, something is wrong.

For a tooth to fracture due to decay means the decay was huge. This is not a hereditary thing. It is a disease. You have been infected with certain kinds of bacteria and those lead to the decay. One bad bacteria is lactobacillus. This is the one that destroys teeth during braces. Unfortunately, though tests exist to check, few dentists do that (I checked my daughter's teeth and she tested moderate levels of lactobacillus...still cavity free because we attacked the bugs during the braces). Six cavities are not uncommon after braces. Keep brushing AND flossing!
The root canal will hopefully just be boring for you. Hard to stay open for a long time. If something's not numb enough, DO NOT let the dentist proceed. If it's still not numb enough, insist on seeing a specialist.
Good luck.

Hi,
Well just because everyone on your mothers side of the family has bad teeth doesnt mean that it will get passed to you,its not genetic.It will be if you dont start taking good care of your teeth,and it doesnt hurt to see the dentist for check-ups it actually helps to prevent your teeth from tooth decay and gum disease and root canal.especially prevents you from loosing your teeth and end up like the people in your mothers family.and a root canal,if you have them num you,you will not feel a thing.your a big boy,Handle that!you'll get through it just fine.dont worry about a thing.just take care of what needs to be taken care of first and thats of course your help including your teeth.
Take care of yourself.

root canals dont hurt. i spent $2000 on mine, couldnt afford it but i needed it.

but nope it dont hurt a bit, you feel pressure but no pain. they give you pain pills after for the next day, which didnt bother me either.
just after start taking more care of your teeth, floss everyday, i do it every 4 hours haha.
root canals made me feel so good, with the gas they give you and the shot. took about 3 hours to do. but that depends.
dont worry, itll be okay=] promise