Why It’s Worth The Time To Save Your Tooth

Ouch! You’ve got a painful tooth, and from the looks of it, the damage goes deep. Anything that stops the pain is worth it, so it’s time to make an appointment and go get a tooth pulled, right? Not so fast – you might actually be requesting a more drastic procedure than you really need.

Unless it’s truly unavoidable, we do our very best to save your teeth. This can surprise people, since it might seem like just pulling the tooth is the fastest and easiest solution. However, the easiest solution is not always the best, especially when it comes to considering your overall oral health. Today, we’re presenting the case for why it’s always worth it to save your natural teeth when you can.

The Future is Now, So Why Worry About Natural Teeth?

But wait, we hear you say. It’s the 21st century. You can have replacement teeth made of everything from acrylic to gold, porcelain, glass ceramics and zirconia, and implants can be of many different materials and designs. Why on earth would you ever worry about a natural tooth when you can get one that will look brand new anyway?

Natural Teeth Are Actually Stronger

It’s true – the teeth you were born with are naturally stronger than anything we’ve been able to manufacture. Sometimes, there’s just no improving on an original. They’re also naturally designed to age well. With the right care (and barring any accidents or decay), your natural teeth can last your entire lifetime. As an added bonus, they’re also much easier to care for and clean than an artificial tooth. 

They’re Cheaper to Save Than to Replace

Sure, your natural tooth might be stronger than a resin replacement, but surely it must be cheaper to just pull a tooth than to go through all the hassle of repairing it, right? Again, your natural tooth emerges triumphant. It’s usually much cheaper to save a natural tooth than it is to extract it and replace it with an artificial tooth. 

The process of replacing a tooth requires much more time than to simply excavate and repair a decayed area. Plus, as an added bonus, you’ll usually get rid of pain much faster with a root canal than with a tooth extraction. 

How a Root Canal Can Save Your Tooth

To be fair, there are cases where it’s simply better for your oral health to have a tooth extracted. However, when they’re successful, they preserve the structure of your tooth while simultaneously cleaning out bacterial decay. The tooth is also sealed to help prevent decay from taking hold in the future. The entire procedure can be completed in only one or two visits, and it’s way less painful than it’s been portrayed in film and cinema.

Restorative and Endodontic Services in Barrie 

At Dr. Elston Wong Dentistry, we view both tooth extraction and root canals like tools in a toolbox. You use the right tool for the task at hand, which is why we always begin with a thorough evaluation of your overall oral health. We’ll take x-rays to get a look at what’s going on below the surface of your teeth, and once we understand what the problem is, we’ll consult with you to create a specialized plan for treatment.

It doesn’t always work out that a tooth can be saved, but we’ll always leave that option on the table until we can safely eliminate it from our toolbox. Every tooth we can save is one tooth that’ll continue to serve you well throughout your lifetime.

If you’d like more information about endodontic services in Barrie, give our office a call at (705) 721-1143 or send us a message online.