Have you ever wondered when you visit a dentist for your toothache and your dentist suggests doing root canal treatment for it, is a good option or a bad option? Well let’s explore this topic.
What is a Root canal treatment?
Root canal treatment is basically treating your infected nerve of the tooth and the surrounding tissues around the root using special instruments and medication to heal and ease your tooth pain
When is the Root canal treatment suggested?
Whenever we have pain in our teeth and we visit our dentist to look into the matter, your dentist will first examine you thoroughly and may suggest taking a xray of the related tooth and surrounding structure from where the pain is coming. After the clinical examination if it is evident that the tooth has a cavity and/or is showing some discoloration, doctor will be taking a xray to gauge the depth of the cavity and see if the tooth’s nerve is involved or not. If your xarys shows that the cavity is deep and is involving the nerve of the tooth, your doctor will suggest doing a root canal for it.
Is doing root canal treatment really beneficial?
Your dentist will suggest doing a root canal treatment for a particular tooth only and only when the nerve is infected and is confirmed from your signs and symptoms provided the tooth structure remaining is sufficient to withstand the chewing force.
When is the tooth extraction preferred over the root canal ?
After your dentist examines and analyses everything, and if he notes the following conditions, he/she will suggest extracting the tooth over root canal treatment.
- Weak and insufficient remaining tooth structure.
- Inaccessible tooth to treat and maintain hygiene.
- Few medical conditions like uncontrolled diabetes and heart diseases.
Why should we really save the tooth by doing a root canal?
How best ever tooth replacement we can do with the best materials available right now, but we cannot compare the quality of chewing which we get with our natural teeth. So whenever possible, if suggested by your dentist we should give preference to saving what’s natural by doing a root canal if it needs.
So, remember doing a root canal is not an option, but should be considered a necessity if suggested by your dentist, so that you can give your tooth a new life.
Happy dentistry.
– Dr. Mahesh S. Mali
Nextcare Dental Clinic, Pune.
