Do root canals work? The answer is yes. But we hear patients all the time that “root canals don’t work for me.” The ugly truth is that nothing lasts forever. But that isn’t just true in dentistry, it’s true for anything man-made in the whole world. Everything has a lifespan and so does dental work. Now when done properly (and even more importantly taken good care of by the patient!) dental work can last decades. Unfortunately sometimes things fail and that goes for anything including fillings, crowns, root canals, veneers, implants, and so on. So if you’ve had some back luck and a root canal failed, you may have the impression that “root canals don’t work.” The main reason for root-canaled teeth to fail is by fracture. Teeth with a root canals are very weak, so we almost always put a crown on top to strengthen the tooth and prevent that catastrophic fracture. Root canal teeth can also get cavities just like any other tooth and they can also get reinfected years later. But just because a small percentage of teeth fail doesn’t mean we shouldn’t save them. Root canals are 90-98% successful and are a great way to save a tooth. The alternative to a root canal is extracting the tooth. We would always rather save a tooth for you and help you keep it for decades than pull it and hope we can replace it! #dentist #rootcanal #dentalimplants #emergencydentist #brokentooth #dentures #burtonsville #burtonsvilledentist