There are many things that can damage the pulp or nerve of the tooth. By the time you need a root canal, it’s too late to save the life of the tooth because it’s already infected and dying.
You many need to undergo root canal therapy if you:
- experience chronic tooth pain
- have a deep cavity
- have repeated dental procedures
- have a cracked or broken tooth
- have sustained injury to the tooth (even if there’s not a visible crack or chip)
The benefits of root canal therapy are that the tooth does not have to be extracted thus preserving your jaw bone from being lost. Why not pull the dead tooth out? Well, you can, and then you would have to replace the dead tooth with an implant to fill the hole left behind in your jaw along with a new, artificial tooth crown. The new school of thought is that going straight to a dental implant is the right thing to do.