Do you have a few years? Let me tell you about my Adventures in Dentistry.
I've had 3 root canals. They were quite painful for me, especially the first one on a tooth that was supposed to be 'dead' but was not. That one was the result of falling on the playground in 2nd grade and jamming one front tooth into my skull...it couldn't be saved, and the other one was supposed to 'die.' I remember once them sticking the novocaine needle right into the hole and into the nerve area. I was a tough kid.
Fast forward however many years until I turned 18 and they deemed my head had grown enough to bridge the missing tooth (so I had years of a partial plate before that, just the one front tooth attached to it, in a young girl's most sensitive teenage/appearance years. It fell out in the deep end of the city pool one time and my older brother stopped everyone yelling "my sister's tooth fell out" the superhero he is to me and a bunch of kids dove in to find it. Looking back it is funny but OMG was I embarrassed and shy.)
Until it broke two superbowls ago that bridge served me well, and lasted way longer than it should have...27 years. I've since had it replaced and yeah, it was expensive, and yeah, it hurt, but I would recommend doing anything you can to save your teeth.
My parents spent so much on me as a kid for my teeth (a chain reaction from the initial accident) in braces (on and off TWICE) and root canals and the bridge and everything else...but it's because they never wanted me to have to deal with the plate like they have.
(I guess I should say here that there is a difference between what some call a 'bridge' and an actual bridge. A plate that can be removed isn't what I call a bridge. What I have simply bridges the teeth on either side of the empty spot, and looks pretty natural. It doesn't come out. It's permanent. My palate is skin, not plastic.)
So, long story short way too late: yeah it might hurt and yeah it's expensive but I too know people who cannot get used to dentures. Then again I know people who don't mind their dentures at all.
But save your teeth if at all possible. In the long run, I think it's the least painful route.
Since I've dealt a bit with both, I probably have a unique perspective.
Wanna hear the rest of my dental history?
