A Cavity Inside a Tooth?

I need some advice. I have tooth that my dentist said has a terrible cavity. He was surprised I was not in tremendous pain. I had trouble believing him, so I went to see a different dentist, but he said the same thing. First, how is this possible? Second, should I treat it with a root canal treatment or by extracting it and getting a dental implant? I have not had the best experience with a root canal. I had a tooth above it that had a root canal treatment and the post kept falling out. Eventually, I gave up and had the tooth pulled and replaced. I’m guess the two dentists were right about the tooth because I am untrusting by nature and went to a dentist in a different city the second time and didn’t tell her what the first dentist said. Plus, today, I had a pretty good sting of pain. I should probably take care of it before it becomes a big problem. What I don’t get is how I can have to tooth cavity that big just on the inside?

Luke

Dear Luke,

A cavity on the inside of a tooth is caused by by root resorption. It’s possible that you had some kind of irritation inside your tooth which led to the resorption. Above is a picture of a tooth which has a great example of root resorption. You are correct that if two dentists who don’t know each other give the same diagnosis, then it is almost positively the correct diagnosis.

While I tend to believe that the best option is to save as much healthy tooth structure as possible. For that reason, I would recommend a root canal treatment. However, given how much of a bad experience you have had with the last one, then I would understand if you wanted to go straight for the extraction and dental implant. You are wise to take care of this before it becomes a dental emergency.

This blog is brought to you by a top-rated endodontist in San Antonio, Dr. Scott Janse.