Questions about RCT/crowns and timelines

For your 28: I would have the tooth treated asap, rather than taking a wait-and-see approach until it is in definite RCT territory. The sooner you have it treated, the higher its chance of survival from RCT. Assuming it's decay, you want to have it taken care of before it reaches the pulp. Have an xray taken and see how deep the cavity is.

If the cavity is already close to the pulp, there is a procedure called pulp capping that gives the tooth a fighting chance to remain vital and avoid RCT. In the hands of a dentist experienced and skilled at vital pulp therapy, it may have a good chance of success. As it doesn't sound like your current dentist does a lot of vital pulp therapy procedures, you'll need to do research on a dentist specialized in this as success depends heavily on the technique, skill, method of disinfecting the pulp chamber, and materials used.

I had a similar experience as yours, with my old dentist recommending a wait-and-see approach on a cavity that, of course, ate its way to the pulp. At the time when the cavity was initially discovered, my old dentist also said that there was nothing to be done and being an ignorant patient blindly trusting him I did nothing for 1.5 years. During my biannual cleaning and checkup appointments, my old dentist didn't even bring up the matter, and I felt little pain. When the decay inevitably reached the pulp and my old dentist nonchalantly declared it a "textbook root canal case," I went into panic mode, researched like a dental school student, and found a VPT specialist. I have had success (so far) with the direct pulp cap, as the tooth has no lingering pain, normal response to temperature, and only slight minor soreness which we think is part of the healing process considering the amount the trauma the tooth went through 8 months ago.

Hopefully the decay is still far from your pulp so a simple filling would do rather than pulp cap. The fact that you are not yet experiencing temperature sensitivity is encouraging. But do get it treated asap, even if by another dentist. Good luck.

/r/Dentistry Thread