Another LOST TOOTH After a Root Canal Treatment

 So today I had to take out another tooth after the patient had a root canal treatment.

So many times patients come in and tell me how they had a root canal treatment and later had to have the tooth extracted as if this was caused by the root canal.  Sometimes root canals do fail and the tooth is lost but most of the time this is not the case.   The overwhelming amount of teeth that I extract after root canal treatment is because after the treatment the tooth was not restored properly.  That means that after the root canal a proper filling was not placed in the tooth and a crown was not placed on the tooth.

After root canal treatment the teeth are weakened and are prone to breakage and this happens a lot.  Unfortunately when this happens many times there is nothing left for us to do but extract the tooth.

So a little bit of friendly dental advice, get the crown after the root canal and protect your investment.

Doing dentistry in Hamilton Ontario

All the best

Dr. Ron Barzilay

https://thehamiltondentist.com/

www.rondentist.com

Do I need a Crown after Root Canal Treatment

Do I need a Crown after Root Canal Treatment

This is not the first time I have written on this subject and I keep getting asked this same question.
I understand the question.  People have had their root canal treatment and their tooth no longer hurts so why should they have this expensive treatment called a crown.  I mean they have just paid enough for the root canal. and the filling.
Well, this past week, another patient of mine came in who had his root canal done a few months ago and the tooth was cracked.  Nothing I could do and I had to extract the tooth.  Only problem was that this tooth was his last molar on one side and it held his partial denture.  Now that the tooth is gone he has a real issue holding that denture.  We have repaired the denture to have it hold better but a solution that will let him hold the denture at least the way it was is going to be expensive.
Yes you need the crown after the root canal treatment.  It will save you money in the long run.

Enjoying dentistry in Hamilton Ontario Canada

All the best

Dr Ron Barzilay

www.rondentist.com

PS. any questions, just send them as a comment

Why does this crown keep falling off?

I have had patients who have been to other dentists and from time to time I get a patient who comes in with the same story.  "Dr., I had this crown done a number of years ago and about once every year or two the crown comes off and the dentist recements it.  Is this normal?  Why is this happenning?"

Well if the crown keeps coming off it means that either the glue holding the tooth is not strong enough or there is not enough tooth to actually hold onto.  Is this normal?  Probably not.

Lets first talk about the glue, there are weak cements used if we want to take a crown off at a later date and there are stronger cements so that even if we don't have that much tooth under the crown then hopefully a strong adhesive or bonding cement will still hold the crown on.  Unfortunately, if the dentist is  using a strong cement and the crown keeps coming off then you are in trouble.  Most likely there is not enough length of tooth under the crown.  If we don't have much tooth under the crown, that can be a real problem since even with strongest adhesive cements you still need something to cement to.  The forces of eating and chewing are really quite great.  The tooth is subject to  forces that pull and push the tooth in every direction and this is happening hundreds of times a day.
If you have a short tooth to begin with and then it must be even shortenned further to prepare the crown you may not have enough tooth structure to retain the crown.
This may be the case but should be planned for before placing the crown such as lenthening the crown before placement or placing retentive devices into the preparation.  A tooth that has been on for many years and now is falling off there is a different problem there.  A tooth that has only been on for a short period of time most likely the tooth is not long enough and the cement now matter how good just can't hold it.
What should you do?  Go back to your dentist and ask him what should be done as it is not right to have this crown coming off every 1-2 years.  He does have the solutions just ask!

All the best

Dr. Ron Barzilay

Doing dentistry in Hamilton Ontario

www.rondentist.com