The Root Canal and Crown Relationship

This relationship is often misunderstood...

Root canal treatment is not necessarily required prior to crown placement.  A crown is often placed on a living, non root canal treated tooth that is structurally compromised as a result of cracks, cavities, or large fillings.

On the other hand, in most circumstances, teeth that have had root canal treatment for whatever reason do require coverage with a crown.  The is as a result of the fact that:

• Teeth with root canal are especially prone to cracking, often seriously, beyond repair.
• Teeth that have root canal are often badly broken down to begin with.

Finally, if a tooth is broken or decayed and very little tooth structure remains above the gum line additional retention is required for a crown.  In these cases, a root canal is often required in order that a post may be cemented inside the canal.  Just as the canal space provides retention for the post, the post will act as retention for a crown.