I had several crowns done in the past, how come I never had a root canal with those teeth?

Just because you have a crown done to restore a tooth, doesn’t mean you automatically need to have a root canal done. Endodontic therapy is performed on an “as needed” basis. In other words, you only need a root canal if the tooth is infected, or a trauma has occurred that has necessitated treatment. Once you have endodontic therapy, however, you need to have a crown (see question 7) procedure completed.

• Why do I need endodontic therapy (root canal therapy)?
• What is a root canal anyway?
• Would you be more specific?
• How long does it take?
• Is the procedure painful?
• How come my regular dentist won’t do my root canal?
• Am I finished after the root canal? Do I need to have anything else done to my tooth?
• How long should I wait before having the buildup and crown done?
• Is it possible to not know that you need endodontic therapy?
• What is the difference between a regular dentist, and a specialist?
• Is it better to see a specialist, or let my general dentist treat me?
• What are some of the complications that could arise during treatment?
• Root canals don’t work on me! I’ve had several; and every time I end up getting the tooth pulled!
• My dentist said I needed to have a tooth I already had a root canal done on, treated again. Why?
• I had endodontic therapy done 10 years ago. Last week I had another tooth treated, and the procedure seemed very different. Which one is better?