Root Canal Therapy Can Salvage a Decaying Tooth
Root canals get a bad rap! In many cases rightfully so. Thousands and thousands of root canals are done every day and every patient patients tell me the horror stories. While most root canals last for a long time, the reality is that root canals pose many inherent risks.
What Is Root Canal Therapy?
First, root canals are only performed when the nerve is dying or dead. Thus, we do not do root canals just because the decay is “deep.” In fact, with our biomimetic philosophy and protocol we can often avoid root canal in “deep” decay situations. Just because there is a lot of decay does not mean it needs a root canal. Dr. Etess and Drs. Golan are committed to “keeping your tooth alive”
Second, root canals are done blind. They are done with instruments and irrigants that go down thin, tiny canals that the practitioner cannot see. They rely on x-rays on electronic locators to make sure that the canal is cleaned, shaped and sealed correctly. Unfortunately, the root canal is not two dimensional. The root canal system is a series of twists and turns, with areas that harbor microscopic bacteria. It is virtually impossible to know if all the bacteria is removed. In fact, we cannot remove them all. Thus, when we “seal” a root canal, we always leave bacteria there.
It is of the utmost importance therefore, that we as dentists do everything we can to remove as many bacteria as possible. We need to go above and beyond what we used to do and use technology to get disinfection to areas we could never reach before.
Dr. Etess and Golan Family Dentistry is committed to this quest. We incorporate laser and ozone technology to make sure that we disinfect root canals as well as known to dentistry today. While success cannot be guaranteed, we are confident that we are raising the probability of success.
Finally, root canals weaken teeth. By dehydrating the tooth, the tooth becomes brittle. Traditional crowns and posts do not support this weakened tooth long term. Thus, even a root canal tooth must be restored with special attention paid to biomimetics so that the tooth can function normally for years to come. Dr. Etess and Dr. Howie are practitioners trained in biomimetics who can restore the root canal tooth with strength and flexibility that approaches what the natural tooth was.
