I have an infected tooth. My dentist wants to do a root canal treatment and then a dental crown. I don’t understand why we can’t just extract the tooth. I mean they’re grinding down the tooth so what is the point of keeping it?
Jenny
Dear Jenny,
I’m glad you asked this question. There is actually a very important reason to save a tooth whenever possible. While you are correct that a root canal treatment often requires a dental crown and a dental crown requires a tooth to be ground down, it preserves the root of your tooth and leaves it intact in your jawbone.
You may be wondering why that would matter. A tooth extraction takes the root with it. When you lose a tooth with its root, your body recognizes that. At that point, because it knows there isn’t a tooth there, it begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere. This shrinks your jawbone wherever you have a missing tooth. Not to mention the cost of a missing tooth.
The best tooth replacement is a dental implant because it mimics your tooth root. This both makes it permanent and most like a healthy, natural tooth, but it also signals to your brain that you still have a tooth and therefore, will leave your jawbone intact.
While this is a great replacement, it’s not cheap and also requires surgery. If you’re looking to save money, then following your dentist’s suggestion of getting a root canal treatment and dental crown is the way to go.
Don’t Put Off Treatment
You don’t want to put this off. Dental infections spread, just like any other infection. However, unlike other infections, an antibiotic alone isn’t enough. Your dentist will have to physically remove the infection.
Plus, your mouth is quite close to your brain, heart, and lungs. If the infection spreads to any of those, it can turn life-threatening quickly.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.