What Are the Alternatives to a Root Canal?

If you have a tooth with significant problems, one of the most common ways to treat it is to get a root canal that removes that pulp from your teeth. Root canals are a good treatment for many teeth issues. At Laguna Vista Dental in Elk Grove, California, our team wants you to know there are now even better alternatives.

A root canal alternative not only can be better for your mouth and tooth, but it can also aid in preserving your overall health and immune system. Understand more about the options available to you instead of having a root canal.

Reasons to consider a root canal alternative

In a traditional root canal, the pulp of your teeth is removed through a hole. Then it is replaced using rubbery material. Later, you might need a crown to cover the top of the tooth.

Usually, you get a root canal when your tooth has a serious infection, is cracked, or has other significant damage a filling or other simple procedure can’t fix. A root canal can fix many severe tooth problems, but often, it’s better for your health to get a root canal alternative.

Here’s why you should consider alternatives to root canals:

Maintain your tooth’s natural pulp

Getting a root canal means all of the pulp is taken out of your tooth and replaced with a synthetic rubber filling. Removal of the pulp takes away the portion of your tooth crucial to keeping it healthy and alive, which contributes to your overall health.

A root canal alternative can treat the tooth while keeping your tooth’s pulp intact, ensuring you don’t lose this significant part of your tooth.

Ensure full resolution of the problem

Root canals can treat tooth infections, but the entire deep infection isn’t completely taken out in some cases. This means the infection remains in your body, which can affect your oral and whole-body health.

Root canal alternatives fully resolve your infection, aiding your holistic health.

Support your immune system

Root canal alternatives keep you healthy, preventing problems from developing like a low immune system, chronic bodily infections, and antibiotic resistance. They are the best way to get and stay healthy after a serious tooth problem.

Available root canal alternatives

We have a few different root canal alternatives. We recommend the best one for you based on a though diagnostic evaluation of your teeth, mouth, neck, and jaw.

Ozone gas

Ozone gas kills any infection in your tooth’s pulp without needing to remove any of the pulp. To perform this procedure, our team puts the ozone gas into a hole we’ve drilled in your tooth, which gets rid of any infection in the pulp.

Calcium hydroxide

Calcium hydroxide gets rid of any dead tissue and bad bacteria present in your tooth’s pulp. This procedure also involves drilling a hole in your tooth, then releasing calcium hydroxide that treats your infection.

Tooth extraction

For teeth with severe damage or infection, extraction to remove the entire tooth is often the best option. Once we have pulled out your tooth, we fit you with a dental implant that looks and works just like a healthy tooth.

To learn more about root canal alternatives and if the procedure is right for you, schedule an appointment today.