Root Canal or a Porcelain Crown for Dead Teeth?

A root canal and a crown are for two totally unrelated procedures. You may need one treatment or both.  A root canal is the solution for “dead teeth”. A root canal removes the nerve( or dead tissue that was the nerve). A root canal does not change the appearance of a tooth. A crown by contrast is a restoration placed over the existing tooth structure , it can change color, shape, esthetics,replace  highly filled weak tooth structure..so forth. It does nothing to correct a” dead tooth”. Many times both are required, but they are not mutually exclusive.

Not sure if we have the full information here.  How do you know the teeth are dead?  Has this been diagnosed by your dentist and/or endodontist?  Are the teeth starting to discolor?  Did you have an accident that effected that area?  It is odd that both of those teeth should just 'die'  on their own.   Before you seek any treatment, make sure you understand what happened / is happening and why.

If both teeth are truly dead, you can wait for a problem to happen to do something about them.  Unfortunately, no one has a crystal ball that can tell them when that may be AND, according to Murphy's Law, the problems will happen when you least want it to (just before a vacation, holiday, wedding, family illness, etc.)   You are in control of the problem now, so I recommend you do something about before it controls you.

Root canal treatment is usually the treatment of choice for a dead tooth.   Whether you follow that up with a crown or a filling will depend on the philosophy of your treating dentist and on other factors... is the tooth discolored, how heavy is your bite in that area, what is going on with the other teeth, what are your aesthetic preferences, etc.)

Hope this helps.

If the teeth have actually been determined to have nerve damage a root canal is necessary before placing a porcelain crown. One option may be to do the root canals and follow it with internal bleaching, maybe crowns would not be necessary at that point. Do consider the root canals if the nerves are dead, even though you may not have pain now, untreated 'dead " nerves can erupt into a problem down the road. Best of Luck! Bernice Szafarek DMD

If in fact the nerve is dead I suggest root canal first followed by a crown good luck

Kevin Coughlin DMD, MBA, MAGD    CEO Baystate Dental PC

If your dentist told you that the teeth are dead, you have many options.  The best option is to have a root canal in each tooth, followed by a crown on each.

Of course there are other options.  You could decide to do nothing now and wait for the teeth to get infected. They will abscess followed by pain and swelling.

You could decide to have them pulled and walk around with no front teeth.  or you can have them replaced with a bridge, two implants or a partial.

As i mentioned at the beginning, the best option is to have root canals and crowns.

If your dentist told you the teeth are dead, than your option is to have a root canal and afterward a crown. Go back to your dentist and get them treated...the sooner the better so you can avoid infection and possible abscess and to prevent them from going dark. Good luck and hope this helps!

When a tooth dies, the tissue inside the tooth becomes infected. This tissue is commonly called the "Nerve" but is actually a mixture of mostly fat and other body tissues.  Infection of this tissue is caused mainly by advanced decay, will spread out the end of the root into the jawbone if not treated.  The normal therapy for a dead tooth is called endodontics or root canal treatment. Root canals can be performed by general dentists or specialists who do only root canals called Endodontists.  The root canal therapy cleans and sterilizes the inside of the tooth and seals it off from future bacterial ingress.

Once the infection is cleared, your general dentist or prosthodonist can then determine if the tooth needs a filling or something like a crown.

Have the root canals first.  If the appearance of the teeth needs improvement, then you can have bonding, veneers, or crowns made.  If the teeth are otherwise ok, then all that's needed are composite fillings to close the access holes for the root canals.

If the nerve is nonvital in your teeth you will need a root canal to resolve the problem and prevent future infection.  It is recommended for teeth that have had root canal treatment to be crowned to prevent fracture and discoloration.