The Confusion with Crowns & Canals

There is some confusion among patients with respect to the relationship between crowns (caps) and root canals. Many people think that if you need a crown, you need a root canal. It’s important to have an understanding of the connection between the two treatments. We recommend capping teeth for various reasons. One of them is if a tooth has ALREADY had a root canal. In most cases (but not all), teeth that have root canals are prone to cracking. Sometimes they crack in a catastrophic way and can not be saved. A crown will most likely prevent that from happening. There are times when we recommend crowns and the tooth has NOT had a root canal. Examples would be if a filling would be too large to be done properly or for aesthetic reasons to redesign a smile. In those cases, if the nerve is healthy, there would be no reason to do a root canal. So to simplify: If a tooth has a root canal, it should be crowned. If a tooth needs a crown, it does not necessarily need a root canal.

– Dr. Gravitis