Seattle Aesthetic Dentist :: Seattle, Washington

Seattle Aesthetic Dentist

To post or not to post, that is the question

Root canal is like taking an infected core out of an apple and the post is like putting a synthetic core back in place, restoring its strength.

After a tooth has been treated with root canal, a post is often used to help strengthen the tooth. A post is a small metal rod, often titanium, which is placed inside the tooth’s root. The post is necessary to help the tooth remain intact during biting and chewing. Despite the importance of the post, there are some risks involved with its use. The post can sometimes damage the root and also present problems if the root canal ever gets re-infected and the post needs to be removed.

A post is placed into a tooth’s root after the root canal has been completed. Root canal consists of the seattle or bellevue dentist making a small hole in the tooth and then removing the tiny nerves and blood vessels within the root(s). The roots are then shaped, disinfected, and filled with an inert material. To place the post, a small amount of this inert material is drilled out, and the post is then cemented into position. In most cases, about two thirds of the post will remain inside the root, and one third will protrude out and into the mouth. The exposed part of the post is then covered with filling material and often used to support a crown aka cap. I often use the analogy of taking the core out of an apple. Root canal is like taking an infected core out of an apple and the post is like putting a synthetic core back in place, restoring its strength at a bellevue dentist.

Although the post has many applications, there are some risks involved with its use. If a post is placed incorrectly, it can badly damage the root and may, in some cases, require the tooth to be removed. Another potential problem with the post is if the root canal fails at some time in the future. To re-treat the root canal, the post would need to be removed, which is often a risky proposition that can seriously injure the root. In some cases, to avoid the problem of removing the post, the tip of the root would have to be surgically removed (an apicoectomy).

To reduce some of these risks, I suggest only placing a post when at least half of the tooth is missing. I also recommend using a thin-gauged post and not placing the post too deeply into the root. These measures are what author Steven Covey would refer to as “beginning with the end in mind”. In other words, I place the post so that it will be relatively easy to remove if the root canal gets re-infected at some point in the future.