Tooth Saving Tips
Patients today have more options than ever to treat their teeth. Understanding your choices, and how they affect your future dental health and lifestyle, matters. Nothing works quite as well as your natural tooth — here’s why, and a few simple tips for saving yours.
Saving a natural tooth through endodontic treatment should always be the first choice for the best health and cosmetic results. There are real advantages to keeping your natural tooth:
Efficient chewing
Normal biting force, so you can keep eating your favorite foods
A natural appearance
Limits the need for more costly, ongoing dental work
Tips for Saving Your Teeth
If you’re given a choice between root canal treatment and extraction, choose root canal treatment. No denture, bridge, or implant looks, feels, and functions as well as a natural tooth.
If your dentist recommends extraction, ask whether root canal treatment is an option instead.
If your dentist says an endodontic procedure isn’t an option, ask why, and request a referral to an endodontist — a dentist with at least two years of advanced training in root canal procedures and diagnosing tooth pain.
What to Avoid
Choosing extraction because you think it’ll be cheaper.
An extracted tooth has to be replaced with an artificial one to prevent other teeth from shifting and to avoid future dental problems. Between the extraction and the denture, bridge, or implant, that’s often more expensive than the endodontic treatment that would have saved the tooth for years to come — and most dental insurance plans cover endodontic treatment.
Choosing extraction because you think root canal treatment will be painful.
Modern techniques and effective anesthesia make root canal treatment virtually painless — discomfort afterward is generally greater with an extraction. Patients who’ve actually had a root canal are six times more likely to describe it as “painless” than those who haven’t.
Choosing extraction because you think it’ll be quicker.
Endodontic treatment usually takes one to two visits, each under an hour. An extraction is one visit, but the denture, bridge, or implant that follows means several more visits with your dentist.
Weighing your options for a damaged tooth? We’re happy to talk it through.
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Ready when you are.
Modern techniques and effective anesthesia make root canal treatment virtually painless. Your initial appointment will consist of a consultation, however, treatment can usually begin at that visit.
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