There may not be anything your dentist would call a “good” cavity, some patients will arrive for restorative dental care with more advanced tooth decay than others. The severity of a cavity will influence how it needs to be treated. When a cavity pushes through your enamel, and opens a pathway for bacteria to infect the interior of your tooth, special care is needed. A root canal treatment is used to remove an infection from your pulp. This is important, as bacteria in your pulp can damage the nerves that sustain the tooth. Without intervention in time, there may be nothing your dentist can do, other than extract the infected tooth.

Why A Root Canal Might Be Needed To Save Your Tooth

A root canal allows your dentist to access the living tissue within your tooth, and clean out an infection. A cavity this serious can make your tooth incredibly sensitive or painful, so the treatment can alleviate real discomfort. It can also stop bacteria from harming your tooth so consequentially that there is no recourse other than removing the tooth.

What Your Dentist Can Do After A Tooth Extraction

Why would your dentist need to extract a tooth with a severe cavity? If you leave it untreated for too long, the cavity’s damage can be irreversible. By removing the tooth, your dentist can stop bacteria from spreading further, and causing more oral health issues. After an extraction, your smile can be restored with a dental prosthetic. A dental implant will allow you to secure a permanent prosthetic by acting like an artificial tooth root for your restoration.