Keeping your natural tooth in Rugby

Nothing replaces a natural tooth as well as the tooth itself. Implants and bridges are excellent when a tooth is truly lost — but a tooth with a sound root and enough structure to restore is almost always worth keeping, and a precise assessment is the only way to know which applies to yours.

Why keeping the tooth matters

A natural tooth sits on a ligament that senses bite pressure and maintains the surrounding bone. It needs no surgery to place, costs less over a lifetime than its replacements and, properly treated and restored, can last for decades.

What the assessment examines

Restorability. Does enough solid tooth remain above the gum to carry a crown or filling for years to come?
Cracks. A crack confined to the crown can usually be contained; a crack that runs down the root cannot be repaired.
Bone and gum support. Where gum disease has already cost a tooth much of its support, endodontic treatment alone cannot restore it.
Canal anatomy and previous work. Blocked canals, posts and fractured instruments are often manageable but affect the outlook.
Your priorities. How much time you can give, what you are prepared to spend and how you feel about treatment all form part of the decision.

The options

Root canal treatment where the tooth has never been treated.
Retreatment where an earlier root filling has failed.
Endodontic microsurgery where the root tip cannot be reached from inside the tooth.
Extraction and replacement, discussed with your dentist, where the tooth cannot be restored predictably.

An honest, written opinion

Some teeth are condemned because they look difficult; others genuinely should be removed. Our assessment of the realistic options, and the likely success of each, is given to you in writing so that the final decision is yours and properly informed. Our guide keep the tooth or replace it? sets out the questions worth asking.

With your dentist

We treat the inside of the tooth; your dentist restores it and looks after it. Once treatment is complete, your dentist receives a report with X-rays and our advice on the final restoration.

Related endodontic care

Root canal treatment

Root canal treatment ends the pain of an inflamed or dead nerve, clears the infection and keeps the tooth. In Rugby it is carried out under magnification, with the tooth fully numbed and isolated, and most teeth are completed in a single visit.

Root canal retreatment

When a root-treated tooth becomes painful or infected again, retreatment can usually save it. The earlier root filling is removed, the canal system is cleaned thoroughly — including any canals missed first time — and the tooth is sealed and restored once more.

Microscope-assisted endodontics

Root canals can be finer than a hair and hide behind calcified dentine. Working under an operating microscope gives bright, magnified sight of the inside of the tooth — the difference between guessing and seeing. It is how every root canal treatment and retreatment is carried out here.