opps should NOT be a hole after a root canal, soory i typo-ed in my 1st sentence
wait im confused. there should be a hole? I have a root canal w/o a crown. I have 4 root canals total. 3 have crowns and one doesnt. I told my dds, it would be about a yr before i can afford to put a crown on it since ive had to pay out of pocket for 3 root canals and 3 crowns. The dds did the root canals, and did the crown build up inside the tooth so there is no hole, they dont leave open holes after a root canals or a root canal would be pointless cus its done to clean out bad stuff and leaving a hole would let it all go back in. tell your dds when you have your root canal that you cant have the crown done immediatly. my dds said the tooth and root canal will last about 5 yrs without a crown but not to keep putting it off or i might crack the tooth and the root canal will go bad and ill lose the tooth. have it done, put it on your credit and get the crown when you can, the dds will tell you the same thing mine did, im sure. ive got about 1/2 saved up right now for my 4th crown and i havent had the crown on for a whole yr and its been perfectly fine! its not a little ground down barley there stump of a tooth either. my dds didnt do the crown prep cus he knew i wasnt gonna have the crown done right away. just explaine to the dds when you have the RCT done that you dont have insurance, you are paying out of pocket and youll get the crown on when you can afford it and youll be fine. youres will be just like mine the whole normal tooth just with a filing in it from the root canal.
I'm still assuming the root canal has not been done yet. Therefore a crown should not be put on the tooth simply because the tooth is infected and must be cleaned out via Root Canal. It's all expensive. But once a root canal is done if you go that way sometimes the tooth can go a long time before a crown is put on it. It may become more brittle with and with out chances for part of it breaking off.
Just doing an extraction is another choice. Hopefully it isn't visable.
oh ... if the tooth is prepped with no temporary crown it looks like a little stump. they shave off the top and sides leaving a nub. really dont get where the hole part comes into this!
to cover up the hole? has this tooth been prepped for a crown yet? if not it should look like a tooth with a huge filling with no holes. if no crown prepping has been done i would advise you to be very careful until you can afford one. a root canal makes teeth especially molars fragile. the tooth might break if you wait to long. if the tooth has been prepped you should have a temporary crown that is only meant to last a month or two.
Try a dental school at a major university. The work done is closely monitored by the dentist professors and the clinics are specifically set up for those who cannot afford a regular doctor.
Still, as Cycl3Chick said, almost every dentist will set up a payment plan for you.
you could chance it and try to keep a temporary in the tooth but you would have to be careful not to bite too hard because the teeth get brittle after treatment. Ive seen people wait, so its possible.
you need that crown tho, maybe the dentist would work out a payment plan for you. paying a little as you go in cash to a dentist with no interest is better than paying high credit card interest.