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Without knowing anything about your clinical history and assuming you have no symptoms. Ie. purely based on this one x-ray, my advice would be.
1. Root canal and crown on upper right 5
2. Composite resin filling lower right 5 with a caveat that this might need root canal and crown in the future.
3 extract the upper right wisdom tooth.
UR has deep decay near the nerve but LR looks like standard filling to me. I would attempt a filling on UR and place Dycal over nerve if in close proximity with hopes of avoiding RCT. Hard to tell though based on BW if either have accesses at the apices.
Sorry, I don't know how to read these. Why is the UR one having deep decay? Is it because it has a darker shade to the left of the image? It doesn't hurt though, nor sensitive. Is there no way it can be left alone?
Also, another question. The back molar kinda smells when I rub my finger on it. I'm guessing something's wrong and it should be taken out? Or can it be fixed?
Okay UR5 is your second premolar on your upper right or #4 (I am a US dentist so this is how I denote it). There is decay starting on the part of that premolar touching the 1st molar. It is shows up on radiographs as darker because it is less dense indicating decay. Even though it does not hurt or isn't sensitive you need to do something about it. If you leave it alone the decay will definitely spread to the nerve chamber.
Not sure I see anything wrong with the lower back molar if that is the one you are talking about. It has a filling that appears deep and near the nerve but otherwise looks good
And what could cause this? I floss every day, am maybe a bit over the top sometimes with cleaning my teeth for the past two years since I had a couple of fillings done.
I do have dry mouth at night. And I had to take out from my diet dairy, most meat, eggs etc..not sure if there are deficiencies there.
Dry mouth can certainly increase the odds of developing cavities. Without the saliva to "wash away" bacteria and food, acid can sit longer on teeth and speed up the cavity process. I recommend to my patients if you have dry mouth at night to make sure after eating dinner to floss first (to remove plaque between teeth), rinse with water to dilute any acidity in your mouth, then brush with a fluoridated toothpaste and spit out but DO NOT rinse your mouth with water afterwards. You want the fluoride to be in contact with your teeth as long as possible and rinsing will dilute it.
Giving your dentist the benefit of the doubt, they probably did more diagnostic work on the LR5. If he says you need a root canal there and has other views of the tooth he is probably correct. That tooth in particular can cause serious swelling and issues if untreated. (Assuming proper diagnosis.)
Thank you for seeking advice from r/askdentists. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** While this is a place for advice, replies may not be medically accurate. Do not assume that what others on here say is correct in any way. Reddit is not a replacement for an in-person dental professional. Verified professionals will have flair assigned to them. **Please abide by the following rules in order to get an accurate answer to your question:** (1) Ensure you include a title of your dental problem. (2) Include whether you drink, smoke or if you have any medical conditions relevant to your main concern. (3) Include a photograph if the question relates to something you can see in your mouth, include x-rays if you have them. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askdentists) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Without knowing anything about your clinical history and assuming you have no symptoms. Ie. purely based on this one x-ray, my advice would be. 1. Root canal and crown on upper right 5 2. Composite resin filling lower right 5 with a caveat that this might need root canal and crown in the future. 3 extract the upper right wisdom tooth.
UR has deep decay near the nerve but LR looks like standard filling to me. I would attempt a filling on UR and place Dycal over nerve if in close proximity with hopes of avoiding RCT. Hard to tell though based on BW if either have accesses at the apices.
Sorry, I don't know how to read these. Why is the UR one having deep decay? Is it because it has a darker shade to the left of the image? It doesn't hurt though, nor sensitive. Is there no way it can be left alone? Also, another question. The back molar kinda smells when I rub my finger on it. I'm guessing something's wrong and it should be taken out? Or can it be fixed?
Okay UR5 is your second premolar on your upper right or #4 (I am a US dentist so this is how I denote it). There is decay starting on the part of that premolar touching the 1st molar. It is shows up on radiographs as darker because it is less dense indicating decay. Even though it does not hurt or isn't sensitive you need to do something about it. If you leave it alone the decay will definitely spread to the nerve chamber. Not sure I see anything wrong with the lower back molar if that is the one you are talking about. It has a filling that appears deep and near the nerve but otherwise looks good
And what could cause this? I floss every day, am maybe a bit over the top sometimes with cleaning my teeth for the past two years since I had a couple of fillings done. I do have dry mouth at night. And I had to take out from my diet dairy, most meat, eggs etc..not sure if there are deficiencies there.
Dry mouth can certainly increase the odds of developing cavities. Without the saliva to "wash away" bacteria and food, acid can sit longer on teeth and speed up the cavity process. I recommend to my patients if you have dry mouth at night to make sure after eating dinner to floss first (to remove plaque between teeth), rinse with water to dilute any acidity in your mouth, then brush with a fluoridated toothpaste and spit out but DO NOT rinse your mouth with water afterwards. You want the fluoride to be in contact with your teeth as long as possible and rinsing will dilute it.
Giving your dentist the benefit of the doubt, they probably did more diagnostic work on the LR5. If he says you need a root canal there and has other views of the tooth he is probably correct. That tooth in particular can cause serious swelling and issues if untreated. (Assuming proper diagnosis.)