Reasons to Save Teeth with Root Canal Therapy in Carrollton

When your teeth become infected, steps need to be taken to protect your health. An extraction may be necessary if the damage is too extensive. However, sometimes you’ll have a choice between having a tooth removed or saving it with root canal therapy in Carrollton. While you may feel like extraction would be the easiest choice, there are several reasons why you should try and keep your tooth instead of giving up on it.

Missing Teeth Can Cause Health Problems

In addition to affecting your ability to speak and chew, a missing tooth can have a negative impact on your health. When there’s a gap in your smile, the adjacent teeth can drift out of place, crowding together or forming more spaces. This leads to bite misalignment, which can be quite painful; it can also make it more difficult to brush or floss effectively.

Additionally, your teeth play an important role in keeping your jawbone strong. Without the stimulation of chewing, the bone can atrophy, becoming weaker and causing your face to look older.

A Gap in Your Smile Affects Confidence

Many people with missing teeth may be more self-conscious about smiling in front of people you don’t know. This can cause you to act more reserved in social situations, or it could affect your ability to give a good first impression during a job interview. A full set of teeth makes it much easier to grin with confidence.  

Natural Teeth Have Benefits That Replacement Teeth Don’t

Dental implants are a common way to replace a lost tooth, but while they can preserve the jawbone and allow you to chew normally, they don’t have all the benefits of natural teeth. When chewing, the nerves in your teeth send messages to the brain to let it know how hard it needs to chew something. Implants do not have nerves, increasing the likelihood of accidentally biting with too much force.

Other forms of tooth replacement can be difficult to maintain. A dental bridge, for example, makes it harder to effectively brush your gumline where plaque can build up, leaving the surrounding teeth more prone to decay. By keeping your natural teeth, it’s easier to get the most out of your oral hygiene routine.

Always ask your dentist in Carrollton to make sure that you’ve explored all your options before deciding on a course of treatment. If extraction is mentioned as an option, make sure to determine whether it’s truly necessary or if it may still be possible to save the tooth with root canal therapy. Remember, the most important goal of is to keep your mouth healthy, so pick the treatment that will best ensure that.

About the Author

Dr. Durga Devarakonda started as a pediatric dentist before moving into general dentistry and geriatric dentistry; as a result, she has experience working with patients of all ages. For patients with badly infected teeth, she offers root canal therapy in addition to extractions. To schedule an appointment at her practice, DD Family Dentistry, visit her website or call (972) 245-3395.