What are the most common teeth to need a root canal? A root canal is a dental treatment that endodontists perform to repair or extract an infected tooth. The infected tooth’s nerve and the pulp will likely be irritated, decayed, and inflamed. If you see the slightest sign of decay or inflammation in your teeth, you should immediately consult your dentist or endodontist.
A root canal usually occurs due to tooth decay and periodontal disease, although the latter is less common. This root infection could also be from trauma, or injuries to the jaw, ultimately cracking and chipping an individual’s teeth.
Most Common Teeth to Need Root Canal
The teeth that often require a root canal are posterior teeth, better known as “molars”. You can find the molars in the mandibular part of the jaw rather than the maxillary part. The mandibular is the lower side of the jaw, where most people will perform root canal surgery. Other than mandibular molars, the primary molar also presents
a higher risk of needing root canal treatment.
- The front teeth, primary molars, help with chewing. Their primary function involves breaking down different types of food which makes them more prone to infection.
- The chewing front of the teeth is not smooth. It has bumps and tiny crevices known as fissures.
- If these fissures people don’t floss, brush, and clean properly, then the plaque, a bacterium, will develop over the surface of the bumps and fissures in the molars.
- Lack of oral hygiene lets the bacteria gather and stick in the tiny crevices called fissures.
- When a root infection starts, it spreads at such a fast speed that there is no option left except to get a root canal treatment.
If you take the proper precautions and floss every day, a root infection is less likely to develop. Most of the time, people who have root canal problems are the ones who don’t diligently brush their teeth or don’t make an extra effort to clean their mandibular molars. The reason why the lower molars are often the target of a root canal is that people don’t put in the effort to clean them.
However, despite precautions, it isn’t unusual for people’s teeth to get infected. Infection can still happen due to trauma, injury to the jaw, or periodontal disease.
Root Canal Treatment
Extracting the infected teeth is no longer necessary. People don’t need to worry about taking out their teeth and ruining their smiles. Dentists perform over 15 million root canals worldwide every year. This number continues to increase as more people realize they can preserve their teeth without long-term repercussions.
An endodontist requires the patient to make one or two appointments where they check if the individual is healing properly. Root canal treatment is relatively painless and is the most effective way to get rid of the infection festering inside your teeth.
A way to recover effectively is to realize the symptoms early on. If you take longer than advised to go to a clinic, then the initial infection will only get worse. Some common symptoms include.
- Very sensitive teeth.
- Intense pain when chewing.
- Pimples in your mouth.
- Your teeth are slowly chipping.
- Swollen gums.
- Blackened gums.
Most Common Teeth to Need Root Canal: Bottom Line
Make sure you are taking care of your molars since they require the utmost attention to prevent infection. Once you make a habit of flossing and cleaning your teeth thoroughly, needing a root canal treatment becomes very unlikely.
However, if you do require this procedure, you should contact our experienced endodontist Young Bui, DDS, at Bryant Park Endodontics. With his experience of performing over 15,000 root canals, he can confidently perform the procedure.
Call or email us today to schedule an appointment.
Young Bui, DDS
30 East 40th Street Suite 1201
New York, NY 10016
646-205-3045
Drendo4u@yahoo.com