Should i make a crown after root canal treatment for my tooth??

After finishing a root canal treatment for lower 6 molar today  i informed the patient that he must make a crown to protect this molar from fracture. Sure the patient was trying to diminish the treatment fees so he asked me if i was in his place would i make a crown and pay the high coast of porcelain crowns?

To answer this question first we   first need to understand what is root canal treatment

Root canal treatment in brief:

Normally there is a vital pulp inside every tooth this pulp is simply a blood vessels and nerve tissues that give the tooth the nutrition and sensation. This pulp tissue is running inside the tooth in a thin  canals  running in every root to merge in the  in the center of the tooth crown forming what is called the pulp chamber.

When the bacteria that cause the caries penetrate the hard tissues of the tooth and reach the pulp chamber it just ferment this fragile soft tissue inside the root canal after causing severe pain in days.

Now this molar need root canal treatment before any restoration of the tooth crown or this bacteria will reach the bone causing abscess.

Root canal treatment is simply removing the infected pulp tissue from the root canal then disinfecting this canal and finally filling the empty root canal with a natural resin filling to prevent reproduction of bacteria in root canal.

You can read about root canal treatment in details from here

so why should i make a crown after rct:

1- To strength the weakened tooth : After root canal treatment the tooth become dehydrated  due to the loss of blood supply that was inside the removed pulp this dehydration cause the tooth crown to be brittle and easily fractured  even under normal masticatory stress.

so covering the tooth  with the strong artificial  crown will put the tooth together in front of the mastication force and prevent it’s fracture .

2-To HIDE the discoloration that happen sometimes after root canal treatment :

sometimes tooth become darker after root canal treatment which is not acceptable specially if the tooth is located in the smile line. So covering the tooth with a good looking porcelain crown will help in restoring the aesthetic form of the tooth crown.

so don’t neglect to make crown after rct it is the right thing and help you to enjoy this tooth more and more