What is the purpose of root canals if they get infected?
 

I am wondering why dentists opt to do root canals if eventually it leads to the tooth getting infected and having to extract it anyway? I am frustrated because I just paid about $5000 between the oral surgeon and dentist to get a flipper made, and then extract, bone graft, insert an implant, and put an abutment/crown on a front tooth. The whole process took about a year. Now, one of my lower front teeth that has had a root canal done years ago and crown put on it now seems to be infected because I feel pain on the gum below the tooth down to my chin. I am probably going to have to go the same route.

jenny8484,

When a tooth is infected or beyond repair, the only 2 options are extraction or root canal. The extraction, removes the entire tooth which is the actual source of the infection. The root canal therapy does not remove the tooth and does not cure the infection because the many hundreds of microscopic canals will always harbor infected nerve tissue. The RC is basically done in an attempt to retain an unhealthy tooth for an uncertain amount of time. Both options are suppose to be presented and fully explained to the patient.

More often than not, the patient is not informed about the fact that the root canal is only a temporary measure and that the tooth will remain infected. Instead, the dentist assumes that the patient is going to want to retain their tooth, so they sell them the root canal and a crown. When the tooth again becomes overwhelmed with bacteria or the infection has spread beyond the tooth, the dentist often sells the patient a retreatment with a second root canal or a surgical root canal called an apicoectomy. Irrelevant of how many times the tooth is root canaled, it will never be healthy again.

If you had the root canal done within the last 2 years and then had it extracted, you may be entitled to a reimbursement of the monies you paid for the root canal and crown.

Your lower root canaled tooth has been infected since the time the tooth first developed a problem that lead to the root canal. The pain you feel is likely due to the proliferation of the infection down into the bone. The tooth could also be fractured, which is a common occurrence for root canaled teeth. Keeping this tooth means keeping the infection. Extraction removes the source of the infection and with a thorough surgical debridement the rate of cure is usually excellent.

Bryanna