Treatment for More Severe Decay
Oral bacteria may not seem especially harmful when they first form plaque on your teeth. As plaque builds up and bacteria reach the inner structures of your tooth, however, the result can be discomfort and a severe threat to your oral health. When tooth decay is allowed to progress, it can reach the tooth’s sensitive inner pulp. This is where the vital nerves, tissues, and blood vessels are housed. If allowed to progress further, the infection and decay can even lead to the loss of a tooth.
What You Can Expect
The last thing you want is to lose a natural tooth, and root canal treatment may be the only way to stop the infection from getting worse. While a severely decayed tooth may not be a candidate for a tooth filling, you may still save it with conservative root canal treatment. This is because a tooth filling cannot successfully address internal decay, which means that the infection has reached the inner pulp chamber and root canal of your tooth.
Restoring your structure requires removing the infected tissues and nerves, then filling and sealing the tooth’s root canal and pulp chamber with a dental material. The procedure will stop the infection from progressing further, but it can also leave your tooth structurally weaker. To address this, your dentist may recommend placing a dental crown over the treated tooth to fortify its restoration.
