Medical expenses

The cost of treatment may vary depending on the type and size of the broken-off piece. If only a small corner is broken off, it can be replaced with a filling, for example plastic. Since this is a purely private service, the costs start at about 20€ per affected area for a molar.

If the tooth is broken so badly that the crown is needed, the costs depend on the type and material of the crown. The cheapest version, the metal crown, starts at about 175€, minus the health insurance benefit. However, if a root canal treatment is necessary, the cost of the treatment and the price increase significantly.

Only in special cases does the health insurance company cover the root canal treatment of a molar tooth. For this purpose, the attending physician should be thoroughly informed. If the costs are not covered, you have to pay privately, in the worst case this can cost up to 600€ per tooth. A restoration of the broken part by means of a filling or crown is also necessary here. However, the costs can vary greatly from dentist to dentist, a comparison of several doctors is worthwhile from time to time.

Why does a molar break more often after a root canal treatment?

If a tooth has been root canal treated, it will become brittle and porous afterwards, as all the supplying vessels (blood and nerve vessels) have been removed and the tooth is no longer supplied with nutrients. As a result, it can break more quickly. The dental guideline recommends that teeth treated for root canal treatment should be crowned quickly after a completed root canal treatment to protect them from fracture. If a root canal-treated tooth fractures and the fracture gap is very deep, it may no longer be worth preserving and must be removed.

Broken molar tooth due to caries

Caries is an infectious disease. This means that if you had cavities once, you will get them again and again. If several teeth in one set of teeth are affected by the disease, this is called “caries-active teeth”.

In most cases, various factors come together here: a saliva quality that is favourable for caries, insufficient oral hygiene in the case of poor nutrition and a high bacterial count. This explains why tooth decay occurs when it is already present elsewhere in the mouth. With regard to a tooth broken off by caries, it can be said that caries will again develop at rough edges of the break, since food residues can settle well here.

The same applies if the broken piece creates a hollow where food residues can accumulate. The term secondary caries means that caries returns to a place under a filling or crown where there has been caries before. The problem is that the dentist has not drilled out the caries enough. Then it can become active again under the new filling. This can be made visible on an x-ray and a renewal of the filling is then absolutely necessary.