Overcoming the fear and discomfort of a root canal is a challenging task. Just when you think the most difficult part is over, your dentist might suggest a follow-up dental crown procedure. At this point, you might start wondering if getting a crown is really necessary or not.
Getting a crown can help ensure your tooth’s health and durability, but it’s important to note that not every case requires this additional step. The decision to go ahead with a crown after a root canal depends on your specific dental needs. Your dentist will suggest the best course of action, but having some knowledge about when and why a crown might not be necessary can be helpful. In this article from your Fairview Allen dentist, we will discuss the situations where you may need a dental crown following a root canal.
Root canal therapy is a dental procedure that aims to save a damaged tooth by removing the infected or decayed dental pulp, which is the soft tissue inside the tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels. During the procedure, the dentist will clean the affected pulp chamber and root canal, and then fill and seal it with a biocompatible material to prevent any future infections.
After undergoing a root canal procedure, a tooth’s structure may weaken due to the removal of dental tissue and decay. This is where dental crowns come in. They act as a protective covering or “helmet” that helps to safeguard the treated tooth from further damage or decay by covering the entire tooth. They also restore the natural tooth structure, including the all-important chewing surface.
We understand that another dental procedure may not be something you look forward to. However, after a root canal, your tooth’s structure becomes compromised, making it more susceptible to future damage. A dental crown is like a custom helmet for your tooth that not only protects against tooth decay but also restores the ability to chew without pain or sensitivity.
The process of placing a crown after a root canal typically involves the following steps:
The timing for crown placement after root canal treatment varies depending on individual healing processes and other factors. Generally, a comfortable recovery period is required before the permanent crown can be placed. This time interval is necessary to allow any post-treatment sensitivity or inflammation to subside.
Dental crowns can be made from a range of materials such as porcelain, resin, zirconia, and metal. Porcelain crowns are popular because they have a natural appearance and provide an aesthetic benefit. However, the choice of material depends on various factors, including the location of the tooth and the patient’s personal preference. The dentist will consider these factors during the material selection phase.
The cost of dental crowns can vary significantly based on the type of crown and the location of the dentist’s office. Some dental insurance plans may offer coverage for a portion of the cost of this restorative treatment. For accurate cost assessment, it’s recommended to consult with your dental office.
Dental crowns can last for a long time if you take good care of them. To maintain the health of your natural teeth and your crown, it’s important to practice regular oral hygiene habits such as brushing, flossing, and visiting your dentist. Additionally, it’s best to avoid using your crowned teeth for activities such as opening bottles and to be cautious when eating hard, chewy, or crunchy foods.
The average lifespan of a dental crown following a root canal can vary, but generally, teeth that have received either a filling or a crown after a root canal treatment last an average of around 11 years. It’s important to note that without these restorative procedures, the lifespan significantly decreases to about 6.5 years. Quality and care can extend the lifespan of dental crowns, with some well-maintained crowns lasting between 10 to 15 years or more. The variation in lifespan can also be influenced by factors such as the material of the crown, the location in the mouth, and the individual’s oral hygiene practices.
Following this type of dental restoration, a crown is generally recommended to protect the now more brittle tooth, especially for molars and premolars that endure significant chewing pressure. However, a crown may only sometimes be necessary, particularly for front teeth or if a tooth retains much of its natural structure post-procedure, as these situations involve less chewing force and might not compromise the tooth’s integrity as much.
The decision often depends on the tooth’s location, the remaining natural tooth structure, and its overall functionality. Dental professionals carefully assess these factors to determine the best treatment plan, ensuring the tooth’s health and longevity without automatically resorting to crowning.
In some cases, it’s possible to complete both a root canal and crown placement in a single visit, especially with advances in dental technology like same-day crowns. However, this approach largely depends on the complexity of the root canal, the specific tooth involved, and the dental office’s equipment.
Although dental crowns are a common type of treatment post-root-canal, alternatives like onlays, 3D-printed restorations, or even a dental bridge exist. However, for the majority of patients, crowns offer a versatile solution that combines protection and aesthetics.
If you’re in the Fairview Allen area and are experiencing the sudden onset of dental pain or sensitivity, or have questions about root canals and dental crowns, we’re here for you in maintaining your oral health. To schedule your next visit, please contact our office online or call 972-468-1440.
Our dental office is located in Fairview, Texas, and our patients visit us from across the surrounding areas, including Allen, Plano, McKinney, and Lucas.
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to