Patient Information - Advice for Patients Receiving Dental Root Canal Therapy

At your appointment today I advised a course of root canal therapy for your current dental problem. This advice sheet is designed to help you understand why I have recommended this course of action and to make you aware of the alternative choice available to you.

Briefly, root treatment involves cleaning the inside of the tooth in order to make it sterile. As there may be up to five canals in each tooth, this procedure is extremely intricate and time consuming and may require two or three appointments in order to complete the technique satisfactorily. This is one of the reasons why root canal therapy can be quite an expensive option. Where exceptional problems are foreseen or encountered, a referral to our specialist endodentist will be recommended.

The alternative to root canal therapy is to remove the tooth completely. While extraction of a tooth is usually straightforward, the shape and number of roots present can mean that this course of action carries its own risks and complications. It is certainly the case that extraction of a troublesome tooth is the less expensive option. However, the resulting space, if found to be unacceptable cosmetically, may lead to a bridge being considered thereby more than cancelling out any savings previously made.

As a dental surgeon, it is my priority to save a tooth if I consider it possible and I am always more than happy to dedicate the clinical time required for root canal therapy to achieve this. However, I am aware that treatment costs can sometimes play an important part in decision making and the ultimate decision must rest with you, the patient. I am always happy to discuss treatment options with you fully before you make your final choice.