How Root Canals Help Save your Teeth

Root canals are an essential measure in the fight to save teeth from infection and severe damage. Without attention from a dentist, decay can start as a small spot on enamel – a cavity – and progress to the inner portions of teeth, or even into a tooth’s roots – the part of a tooth that keep it in-place.  Tooth infections and extremely damaged teeth can often be saved, and your oral health preserved, with help from root canal therapy at our Plano dental office.

How Root Canals Preserve Tooth Structure

When a tooth is infected, material called dentin – the pulp and nerves inside the tooth’s canals – is what gets damaged. But dentin can actually be removed without compromising the integrity of tooth walls or tooth roots. By removing dentin, we are able to prevent bad bacteria from spreading and causing further damage. The end result after root canal therapy is a clean, infection-free tooth that can be allowed to remain in place, without perpetuating oral health problems.

The Complications of Tooth Extraction

Teeth that are not treated with root canals, or that are damaged past the point of saving, must be removed to prevent discomfort and damage to neighboring healthy teeth. While this fixes the immediate problem presented by a diseased tooth, lack of natural teeth creates other issues, such as bone volume depletion, shifting of existing teeth alignment, and disruption in biting and chewing function.

It’s possible to replace teeth with prosthetics like dental implants, bridges, and dentures, but this incurs additional costs for care. When possible, it’s always best to keep your natural tooth structure and roots in place. Root canal therapy allows Dr. Yeary to do just that for patients.

Protecting Treated Teeth with Custom Restorations

The process for getting a root canal includes a final restorative process where your treated tooth is sealed to prevent additional damage and promote lasting function. Dr. Yeary accomplishes this by adding a customized, tooth-colored dental crown to your smile. Not only will you be free of the discomfort caused by a tooth infection, your tooth will be saved, and your smile will look healthy.

For more information about how we can protect and renew your oral health with a root canal, contact Plano Smiles to speak to a member of our team.