Hi there,

About 20ish years ago, in the stupidity of my youth, I got in a fight with a large fist and #;'s 24 and 25 (I think those are the correct #'s) broke. We managed to save the teeth with bonding and root canals. The dentists at the time told me they would eventually fail, and that I would probably lose them at some point. 10 years later (about 8 years ago) I broke #24 and subsequently got it extracted and then implanted. Unfortunately, there wasn't any room to implant #25, so we kept the tooth in, with the understanding that it would eventually fail as well.

A couple of days ago a slow ache began, followed by it full out hurting. Knowing the time has come, I went to the dentist and it can't be saved (x-ray attached). He said there is no room for an implant, and my options were either a removable or cantilever - basically removing the crown on the implant and capping with the cantilever. In two weeks it will get extracted and I will get a flipper to wear until it heals. This really sucks, because I don't want to wear a flipper but I have no choice, I guess. He said I will not have to remove it for eating, provided I chew with my back teeth and do not bite into food with my front teeth.

After healing I'll get the cantilever. I haven't heard good things about this type of prosthetic. Can the dentists make them look decent? Is there a possibility of it failing later down the line?

Also, the dentist gave me 600mg ibuprofen and told me to stagger with Tylenol 500mg. This doesn't seem to be working (I have 800mg of Ibuprofen I'm using instead). Is this the most effective combo? Does this warrant some kind of narcotic? Also gave me amoxicillin 500mg every 8 hours. Additionally, the tooth is mobile and my bite is off - I am constantly biting on it and it hurts.

In summary: can I get your opinions on the cantilever, and is there a more effective pain management combo?

Thank you.