Endodontic Therapy or Dental Implants: What’s the best treatment for a damaged tooth?

There are times when your teeth will need some work. Sometimes this will be cosmetic but sometimes it will be due to the breakdown of your teeth as a result of decay. Some dentists throw around terms like ‘endodontic therapy’ or ‘dental implants’ but end up confusing their patients with a lack of detail and information. At Redmires Dental Care our caring and understanding dental team offer professional advice in an easy-to-understand manner so that our patients can make informed decisions.

Today’s dentists have a number of treatments available for patients to preserve or replace diseased teeth. Endodontic therapy and dental implants are two such options.

What is endodontic treatment?

Not got a clue what ‘endodontic’ means? You might know this treatment by another name.

Endodontic therapy is sometimes also called root canal treatment. A root canal is needed if the pulp at the centre of your teeth gets infected – the treatment aims to remove the infection and therefore save your tooth.

Endodontic treatment is a most successful, predictable and cost effective procedure.

What are dental implants?

A dental implant is used to replace the root of your tooth when it fails. The tooth is removed and an implant holds the false tooth in place.

As you may have noticed, a major difference between these two treatments is that endodontic therapy preserves the damaged tooth whereas a dental implant involves a tooth being removed.

Statistics show that both treatment options last for as long as each other.

Which is the best treatment for my teeth then?

Our philosophy is that quality dental care can only be provided when treatment decisions are made jointly by both the dentist and the patient. These decisions should be based on the patient’s general and specific oral health needs.

Whichever treatment is chosen should be safe, predictable, cost-effective and respectful of patient preferences. We always aim to preserve normal anatomy and function and base these decisions upon the best available scientific evidence.

We believe that we should try to save original teeth where possible. A consultation with our expert endodontist will determine if this is possible.

However, sometimes it is not possible to save the infected tooth – in this case dental implants may be the best solution. As already mentioned, with good care, a dental implant can last as long as a tooth that has had root canal treatment!

The great news is that whatever the situation you can be confident that we will provide the highest quality dental care.

Many patients live in fear and put off visiting the dentist. However regular check ups and early intervention can avoid the need for more invasive treatments down the line. Get in touch with us today for a healthy mouth check and we can provide you with the care and advice you need to keep your teeth bright and healthy!