Should a Root Canal Be Done with the Old Crown in Place??

This is quite common. Many teeth have crowns done due to fractures or cavities but no root canal was needed at the time if the nerve of the tooth was fine. However, sometimes a few years down the tooth may act up needed the root canal to be done after the crown. If the crown is intact and has no filtrations or leakage (cavities around the margin) then you can do a root canal and keep the crown. You just do a filling throught the top where the root canal was done.

However, if the old crown has cavities or poor margins, then a new crown will be needed and you must first assess if there is sufficient tooth structure to make a new crown. This means you should remove the old crown the see what is there before the root canal.  A clinical exam and x-ray should tell you if the crown is leaking or has cavities.

Hope this helps

Dr. T

In most cases when a patient is experiencing pain where there is an "old" crown it is due to the tooth having decay under it.  The most common reason is because it is no longer properly sealed & bacteria is filtering in.  Other times the crown may be properly sealed & it is just reacting to the trauma caused by the actual preparation, which occasionally happens as well.  Every case is different & every dentist treats differently but I usually recommend taking the old crown off to properly evaluate & see if there is enough tooth structure to properly do a root canal, post & crown. Good Luck

A root canal can be done through an existing crown if the crown is in good condition, has closed margins (edges), and there is no decay underneath the old crown.  After the root canal treatment is completed, the hole in the crown will be patched up with a filling material.

However, if the crown needs to be replaced, then the crown will be removed, all decay will be cleaned off, and the root canal treatment will be done.  If insufficient tooth structure is left to support a crown, then a post will be necessary for the retention of a crown.  All the best, Dr. Elizabeth Jahanian

Root canals are needed because of pain or infection/ abcess.  There are many reasons why one would need to do a root canal and many times they are done through the exsisting crown.  If it is an old crown, chances are you need a new crown because there is decay.  Unfortunately, we assume there is room for a new crown but don't always know until the old crown has been redone.  If there is a question about how sound the old crown and tooth are, many times we take off the crown before the root canal to check -It has a lot to do with what the dentist sees.  Nothing is ever a guarantee but we do try to educate as much as possible before beginning any treatment.

Root canals are commonly done through old crowns if significant decay is not seen on the xray in order to divide treatment into stages for economic or time reasons.  However,  if significant decay is found to be present, the crown should be removed to eliminate decay first and make sure the tooth is savable.  Also so that the decay won't progress too far, if the a new crown is not to be done soon, it would be wise to remove the old crown and all the decay, otherwise the tooth might continue to decay and  be lost despite the root canals presence.  Talk to your dentist about options at this point.