Recent years have brought amazing advances in dental care. Veneers, crowns, and even dental implants are available to restore or replace many functions of natural teeth. Perhaps the most important advances of all relate to saving natural teeth, allowing you to use them for your entire lifetime.
The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) designates May as its “Worth Saving” public awareness month. This awareness campaign highlights the role that endodontists, who are highly trained dental specialists, play in saving natural teeth through root canal treatments and other techniques.
Reasons Natural Teeth Are Worth Saving
Given the replacement or restoration options dental professionals have when a natural tooth is compromised by decay or injury, why do endodontists work so hard to save your teeth?
- Most people want to save their natural teeth. In a survey sponsored by AAE, 95 percent of respondents said it is important to save their natural teeth. In fact, nearly a quarter of Millennials (born 1980-1996) said saving their natural teeth is their top concern about saving or restoring their body.
- Natural teeth have benefits that artificial restorations cannot mimic. Natural teeth have connections to the gum tissue around them through the periodontal ligament and an epithelial attachment. These connections help teeth adapt to changes when chewing or talking and also help sustain gum health. Dental implants lack these connections.
- Treatments to save teeth are less invasive. A root canal treatment has less impact on your mouth than an extraction or implant. Your post-procedure pain and recovery time is also lessened.
- Root canal treatments are often overall less costly. Teeth extraction by itself is not expensive, but implants can cost thousands, even if only one or a few teeth need replacement.
- Treatments to save natural teeth are more cost effective. A 2009 British study determined that for a tooth that could be saved with a root canal treatment or a re-treatment of a previous root canal, the lifetime costs of endodontic treatment were equal or less than replacing it with an implant.
“Our natural teeth are designed to last a lifetime, and they can last a lifetime, with proper care and the assistance of endodontists if a tooth is badly infected or injured,” says Dr. Jacqueline S. Allen, who practices with the Phoenix Endodontic Group. “Our staff welcomes you to discuss your case with us. We’re happy to help you experience the benefits of saving your natural teeth.”
