At the beginning it was a black line on the tooth, later it developed to a small hole, then a large hole. We didn’t have it treated since there was no pain. However, if we keep doing nothing, we will eventually lose the tooth.

Dental caries or cavities are one of the most common human disease, which has high incidence rate and extensive distribution. WHO has named it together with cancer and cardiovascular disease as the three major preventive and curative human diseases.

1. Is it necessary to pull out the rotting tooth?

Teeth accompany us throughout our lives, but they can easily get cavities. It is necessary to fill a tooth with cavities. Even if it is seriously damaged, there are still ways to save it.

It is not always necessary to remove the decayed tooth, as if so, an artificial tooth will be needed after extraction. Therefore, dentist usually doesn’t recommend tooth removal to the patient unless it is really necessary. There are very few cases in which tooth extraction is required, generally when the tooth is seriously damaged by cavities and cannot be saved, or when the decay goes deep into the root.

2. Treatment for severe caries

Common caries can be fixed by tooth filling. But that is not available if the tooth decay is severe, and the cavity is deep and large, as there won’t be enough tooth left after root canal treatment. In this case, an overlay or a crown is required.

Overlay is similar to tooth filling. In the early stage, the decayed tooth will be prepared before placing the overlay. Some people may redeem it as a dental filling. But the truth is, the quality, firmness and wear resistance of overlay are far more excellent than filling materials. Besides, it also has longer service life.

Dental crown is also a frequently used restoration method which is available for missing teeth and extensive tooth defects. A dental crown can, on the one hand, protect the entire tooth from external stimuli, and on the other hand, restore the contour and appearance of the tooth.

3. Keep or remove?

Most of the decayed teeth including those seriously decayed ones can be preserved after treatment. When it comes to tooth preservation, we must listen to the dentist.

Here comes a reminder of the dentist: tooth extraction is required when there are serious cavities, or when the condition is extremely complicated. To avoid severe caries, the patient should have decayed tooth treated as early as possible. After all, early treatment can also save a lot of time and money.

Teeth are a very important part of our body which we use for chewing. No one wants to lose teeth. Therefore, it is crucial to protect each one of the teeth.

Please feel free to contact me if there’s any dental problem. (WeChat ID: aiyuan325180).