Afraid of Root Canals? Get Those Cavities Treated ASAP!

Many Americans list root canals as their most feared dental procedure. But the truth is, most root canals could be avoided with proper preventative oral health care. Seeing your dentist twice yearly, and making sure to report any changes in dental health when noticed, can be the difference between a simple filling and a root canal. With so many people concerned about the overall cost of dental care in today’s economy, preventative care can also help keep your money where you’d rather it be — in your pocket.

Consider these facts:

- When a cavity is small, it is best to get it treated immediately. A small dental filling completed in white composite material runs between $140-$200. This may seem expensive, but the cost of waiting can be much greater (as you’ll see below).

- A cavity left untreated can easily turn into a root canal –- the cost of which averages $1200 at a specialist’s office.

- After a root canal is completed, a core and crown must be done on the same tooth –- at the cost of an additional $1,200.

Simply seeing a dentist before problems worsen can save you as much as $2400 in dental care costs!

As if that weren’t expensive and complicated enough:

- Some teeth can be too far gone to save with a root canal procedure. At that point, there is no other choice than to extract that tooth and complete a permanent bridge to replace the tooth –- a cost of approximately $3,000.

- This also affects your personal time. An extraction and bridge requires one appointment at the oral surgeon for removal of the tooth, waiting four weeks for the tooth socket to heal, and then two appointments at Dr. Kotre’s office three weeks apart to prep and then seat the bridge.

- The total time it takes for extraction and implant surgery at the oral surgeon, and then placement of an implant crown from start to finish takes approximately six months, and a total of $4,000 between the oral surgeon and Dr. Kotre’s office.

If it’s been more than six months since your last dental check up, please give us a call ASAP at 734-677-2156 so we can make an appointment for preventative dental care. Additionally, if it’s been less than six months, but you’ve noticed a change in your dental health that may require a dentist’s care, feel free to contact us. We are always happy to speak with our patients about any concerns they may have about their dental health. Remember — a simple phone call to Dr. Kotre’s Ann Arbor dental office could end up saving you thousands of dollars in the long run!