Use Less Invasive Dentistry as the First Alternative

Posted on September 21, 2008 | Filed Under Dentistry 

Sometimes the cause of your tooth pain is not always indicative of a clear cut procedure. Here’s a classic example of what I mean: Let’s say you bite down too hard on something and experience pain. If the dentist is too eager to do a root canal or extract your tooth he/she might miss that you just “sprained” your tooth.

You heard me right. A sore ligament around your tooth is like stepping on an ankle that’s been sprained. If you let it heal, it will be fine. If you don’t, you’ll unnecessarily be extracting or doing a root canal on a good tooth.

That’s one reason I take the time for diagnoses. If there’s uncertainty as to the source of the pain, I might adjust your bite to see if that corrects the problem. If it doesn’t we can always do an extraction or a root canal. But, if you’re willing to try the less invasive (and less expensive) procedure first, it just might fix the problem.

In this issue, I talk about making decisions that affect your long term health. This is exactly the type of decision I make every day about your treatment. I only choose procedures that I would do on myself, given the same situation.

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