Ask the Dentist

May 29, 2012

My husband is scheduled for a root canal. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to have him extract the bad tooth?


With Dr. Biren Yajnik

Q: Dear Doctor,
My husband is scheduled for a root canal. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to have him extract the bad tooth?

Anonymous

A: Dear Anonymous, Most people cringe at the mere mention of a root canal. Well, 25 years ago, the “cringe” was justifi ed, but with the quality of today’s anaesthetics and technics, the procedure should be virtually pain-free.

The fi rst thing to explore is why some teeth need root canal therapy. Inside the tooth, there is living tissue. When a tooth experiences trauma, such as a sports injury, or in most cases, tooth decay, the living tissue begins to die.

As this tissue dies, it decays and becomes infected. If left untreated, this infection can extend o the jaw bone. Extraction of the tooth could be the immediate solution, however, there are many clinical reasons why a tooth extraction can lead to a domino effect of tooth loss in the future.

What root canal therapy does is that it allows the dentist to remove the dying tissue by creating an access hole through the top of the tooth. Once the inner tissue is removed the canal is fi lled, and the tooth will remain functional for many years.

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