Solutions to Basic Cavities and How to Prevent a Root Canal
DENTAL FILLINGS: If you are experiencing mild pain or sensitivity there is still hoping to prevent a root canal. You need to immediately rush yourself to the dentist as soon as possible and take an x-ray to see if you can fix the cavity before it digs any deeper into the nerve. If the cavity has not yet penetrated the core of the tooth you can get a dental filling or a variation of it. Fillings are much less expensive than crowns and root canals and can oftentimes fix your problem and relieve the symptoms of sensitive teeth.
PULP CAP: A pulp cap is a very underutilized dental treatment that Dr. Arash highly recommends as an alternative to root canals when possible. Basically, when the cavity is very close to the nerve a special medication is placed between the cavity and the nerve which soothes the nerve and also stimulates the natural healing of the tooth. There are different materials used for this procedure but the basic idea is to prevent root canal therapy and save the nerve from becoming infected. Unfortunately, not a lot of patients and dentists are familiar with this amazing procedure resulting in a lot more root canals than necessary. Furthermore, dental pulp caps can save thousands and thousands of dollars by helping avoid invasive and expensive root canal therapy which is often followed by dental crowns.
The success of this procedure depends on the type of material used, the experience of the dentist, and also the extent of damage of the cavity. Sometimes pulp caps do not work and the patient has to get the root canal anyway but Dr. Arash always recommends trying to prevent a root canal holistically and naturally before jumping into root canals.