When your tooth has been compromised due to severe decay, injury or
lack of bone support you  may be presented with different treatment
options: saving or extracting the tooth. Saving the tooth often
involves the need for a root canal. If the tooth is extracted, then
replacement can be done with a newer treatment option, dental implants.
The two procedures may have similar final esthetic results, but involve
very different procedures with different requirements.

A root canal preserves your natural tooth, but removes the decay within
its structure and any infection within the root. Dental implants are a
more complex dental surgery procedure that involves the extraction of
your diseased tooth and its replacement with a prosthesis or
“artificial tooth”. Our goal as dental professionals is always to
preserve as many of your natural teeth as possible. Root canal
treatments preserve 17 million teeth a year. However, due to the
increasing predictability and reliability of dental implants, this
alternative can be a very good option when the prognosis of a tooth
restored with root canal is still questionable.

Despite the “fear factor” the term root canal often creates, root
canals are actually a simple and relatively pain free procedure. In a
root canal the source of your tooth pain, infected or inflammed nerve
tissue, is removed. The tooth is cleaned and filled with a
biocompatible material, then sealed with a crown. The procedure is
relatively painless with modern dental anesthetics. Implants require
surgically extracting the tooth and a separate surgery later to insert
an artificial tooth root into the jaw bone. After sufficient time to
properly attach to the bone, the replacement crown is affixed to the
implant.

There are many factors to evaluate before deciding the course of
treatment. The integrity and amount of remaining tooth structure as
well as the amount and quality of surrounding bone will profoundly
affect the long term prognosis of a tooth restored by root canal
treatment. The bone also affects the possibility of anchoring an
implant. Also, some people with certain medical conditions should avoid
dental surgery whenever possible and for them root canal therapy may be
the best option.

If you have lost several teeth, dental implants can present a very
attractive alternative to dentures, or even be used in conjuntion with
full or partial dentures to provide a much more secure anchor to hold
the dentures in place.

The most common type of dental implant used today is called a root form
implant. These are post-like devices usually made of titanium alloy
that are placed in the bone to serve as artificial tooth roots to which
the dentist can then securely attach a crown or bridgework or an anchor
for a denture.

Every situation is different and if you are experiencing tooth pain or
have recently broken, cracked or otherwise damaged teeth seek the
advice of a dental professional to discuss the right restoration option
for you.