Why Is It Mandatory To Cap A Root Canal Tooth?

When a tooth becomes infected, it can lead to serious dental problems, including bone and tooth loss. In order to treat deep infections within a tooth, root canal therapy may be required.

Root canal treatment can save a tooth from extraction, but it can’t preserve tissue that has already been lost to decay.

Today, root canal treatment saves many teeth that would otherwise have to be extracted.

After performing root canal treatment, tooth requires a filling to protect the treated teeth from bacteria and to strengthen them in the process.

Many patients inquire if placing a crown (cap) on the tooth is truly necessary after receiving a root canal.

Fitting crowns over the filled teeth is necessary because of the high risk of fracture without the extra protection crowns provide. Another advantage of crowns is that they restore the natural appearance of your teeth.

In a normal healthy tooth, the dentin (second layer of the tooth) has elastic flexibility that makes the tooth resistant to the forces as we chew, hence making the tooth resistant to fracture.

Once root canal therapy is performed the tooth becomes dead (due to loss of nerve and blood supply) or brittle, leaving it prone to fracture.

The root canal procedure involves taking out the bacteria and dead cells that has spread out in the canals and causing the decay and inflammatory response

After the dentist had properly cleaned the tooth from all decay and that the root canal treatment is completed, it leaves your tooth relying exclusively on the walls of the tooth for support, thus making it weak and brittle.

It is always advisable to put a cap over the root canal treated tooth because after the treatment what left is only a shell of teeth without any nutrients. So there will be no strength to chew hard foods.

You can’t just get a filling instead of the crown. There isn’t usually sufficient healthy tooth structure to restore the tooth with only a filling as most of the tooth’s original structure is broken or gone.

To reinforce the strength of the tooth with a filling is just not possible in order to withstand chewing and masticatory forces. A root canal treated tooth with a “filling” and no dental crown is simply more prone to fracture or breakage in comparison to a normal tooth.

Therefore, to prevent further damage to the tooth structure and to restore proper shape and function of that particular tooth a dental crown is important.

Crown serves to solidify a tooth and maintain its integrity. It is then necessary to complete the treatment by putting a cap or crown as it increases support to the filling and dissipate forces of chewing over large area to ensure that the tooth will not break eventually.

We don’t want the tooth to get so weak that it breaks or splits when you bite on it. The tooth might have to be extracted if it splits down the root.

The crown thus protects the underlying brittle tooth from excessive forces and prevents fracture, thus increasing the strength and providing the tooth a greater life.

A successful root canal must be performed with great precision and the sealing of the roots must be complete. If a root canal is performed poorly, the likelihood of that root canal failing is high. In most of the dental clinics in Delhi, including ‘Smile Delhi-The Dental Clinic‘, 95 percent of the cases are done in one sitting using the latest technique and instruments.

Given the above, the root canal is an effective way to prevent the loss of the dentition. Dental clinics in Delhi can ultimately help you determine the best option for restoring a tooth after a root canal.

A crown can be made out of porcelain/ceramic, metal, or a combination of metal and porcelain, and it encapsulates the tooth to protect it from the entire functional load.

The crown can be chewed on, brushed, and flossed like a regular tooth. The life span of a crown depends on the amount of “wear and tear” the crown is exposed to: how well you follow good oral hygiene practices, and your personal mouth-related habits. (Avoid habits such as grinding or clenching your teeth, chewing ice, biting fingernails, and using your teeth to open packaging.)

Dentists in India are routinely educating their patients that in order to save the root canal tooth from high stress situations and increase its functional longevity in oral cavity it should be crowned after a successful root canal treatment.

A dental crown is the best way to ensure the future health of a tooth following root canal therapy. Most of the time, patients are very happy to have saved teeth by getting crowns.

Dental clinics in India help the patient to realize that taking care of the mouth is an investment which motivates them to eat properly and stay healthy.

 

Posted by- Dr Shriya