Damaged and infected teeth are treatable through tooth extraction or a root canal procedure. A root canal procedure saves your natural tooth that is damaged, diseased, or has dead pulp. Your tooth pulp, the innermost layer of your tooth supplying blood, can become damaged out of a deep cavity or if you crack your tooth. Deep cavities and cracked teeth give way to bacteria in your pulp. The bacteria then cause infection, killing the pulp tissue if untreated. Therefore, a root canal is a conservative treatment in which we will remove the damaged tissue and nerves inside your tooth. We will then fill your remaining tooth structure with special material to restore its functionality.
If, after examination, we find that your tooth cavity has compromised your tooth structure such that repair through a root canal is impossible, we will consider tooth extraction. A tooth with a severe fracture or a crack deep below the gum line is also a candidate for extraction. Tooth extraction deals with your tooth problem by removing the tooth, infected tissues, and nerve responsible for the pain. Based on the above, a root canal is a better option to treat an infected tooth. However, this is subject to the state of your tooth, and our team will examine and advise accordingly.