Root canal question

dbrookf

My dentist has told me it’s looking likely that I may need a root canal treatment on my front tooth 😱. Terrified. How likely is the tooth to become discoloured after treatment? My teeth are currently naturally white! 🤦‍♂️

Toothsmith

It's less likely to discolour if the tooth is done whilst it still matches the others. It's more likely to discolour if it's not done, or put off for a long time. 

The thing that makes the tooth discolour is dead nerve tissue rotting and soaking into the structure of the tooth. As your dentist has diagnosed that the nerve is dead, then the sooner it's removed, and the better it is removed, the less chance there is of the tooth discolouring. It will almost certainly start to discolour if you do nothing. Not to mention the risk of an abscess forming. 

It wouldn't be possible to 'guarantee' no colour change whatsoever after treatment  - but there are bleaching techniques which can make any colour change much better, if not completely invisible. 

dbrookf

TToothsmith said:

It's less likely to discolour if the tooth is done whilst it still matches the others. It's more likely to discolour if it's not done, or put off for a long time. 

The thing that makes the tooth discolour is dead nerve tissue rotting and soaking into the structure of the tooth. As your dentist has diagnosed that the nerve is dead, then the sooner it's removed, and the better it is removed, the less chance there is of the tooth discolouring. It will almost certainly start to discolour if you do nothing. Not to mention the risk of an abscess forming. 

It wouldn't be possible to 'guarantee' no colour change whatsoever after treatment  - but there are bleaching techniques which can make any colour change much better, if not completely invisible. 

Thank you. Is it more onerous to do front teeth rather than back - quite nervous about this 😫

Toothsmith

Front teeth generally have just one root canal. Back teeth have up to 4 (or sometimes more!). Front ones tend to be a lot more straightforward than back ones