Dentist Greystanes – Difference between a Root Canal and an Extraction
A badly damaged tooth will need serious dental treatment. The type of damage and the extent of the damage will determine which treatment is more appropriate. In some cases, where the damage is too severe, the tooth will have to be removed entirely.
A root canal will save a tooth, even if the damage is quite severe. Though it does depend on the type of damage. Root canals will remove the infected nerve inside the tooth but still keep the hard tooth surface. The tooth will no longer be sensitive to temperature, but it will still work correctly and look still look pretty much the same as before.
So, a root canal is appropriate when the main tooth structure is still quite good, but when an infection has damaged the pulp and surrounding gum.
There is a general misconception that root canals are painful. This is basically untrue. In fact, while an infected tooth is painful, the root canal treatment will alleviate the pain. The treatment itself is no worse than a filling.
Extractions are for more damaged teeth. More specifically, teeth that have suffered so much decay that they cannot be saved.
Dentist Greystanes – Replace Damaged Teeth
In a few cases, if the decay is only on the surface of the tooth, the dentist can fit a crown. This replaces the outside of the natural tooth with an artificial tooth. The crown will look, feel and function like the original tooth.
If the tooth is extracted because of bad decay, then it probably needs to be replaced. A back molar tooth (a wisdom tooth) might not need replacing, but if we lose any of the other teeth then we will need an implant, or perhaps a denture to replace the tooth.
In the past, a lost tooth might be replaced by a bridge. This was a replacement tooth connected to the teeth on either side. This is now largely considered obsolete. Implants are used because they are superior.
An Implant consists of a metal post, bonded at the jawbone, that supports a facsimile tooth. Implants look, feel and function like a natural tooth, though they will not feel and temperature changes as they lack a nerve. Implants should last 30 years or more.
Dentist Greystanes
A badly damaged tooth will require dental treatment. But root canal work or an implant means an artificial, yet fully functional tooth.
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