“How long can you leave a cavity untreated?”
I am an 18 year old male. I want to know how long can you leave a cavity untreated?
8 Answers
You should treat it RIGHT AWAY! Decay involves bacteria and it grows bigger or even make the tooth next to it rotten!
Treat it sooner before root canal treatment.
You shouldn't be leaving it too long before addressing. It will have to depend on the depth of the cavity and it's approximation to the pulp chamber of the tooth where the nerves are.
Hard question since I do not know the size. The larger the cavity the more likely its closer to the nerve. Any cavities should be treated as soon as possible to make sure that you can restore the tooth with least expense. The longer you wait, the bigger it gets and the more costly it becomes.
The sooner you get it fixed, the better. The longer it goes untreated, the deeper it is growing and the more expensive it will be to repair.
Dr. Laurentis Barnett
Dr. Laurentis Barnett
Hello there,
My advice is to have your cavity treated as soon as you can. Once you're diagnosed with a cavity, which is disease in your tooth, why would you want to wait to let the disease get worse?! Just like with any disease, early diagnosis and treatment will yield more predictable outcomes. Besides, treating, say, a small cavity will cost you much less than leaving it untreated to become deeper, larger, which might cause you pain, then you might end up needing an RCT and crown, both of which will cost you much more.
I hope that helps you make your decision. Be well.
My advice is to have your cavity treated as soon as you can. Once you're diagnosed with a cavity, which is disease in your tooth, why would you want to wait to let the disease get worse?! Just like with any disease, early diagnosis and treatment will yield more predictable outcomes. Besides, treating, say, a small cavity will cost you much less than leaving it untreated to become deeper, larger, which might cause you pain, then you might end up needing an RCT and crown, both of which will cost you much more.
I hope that helps you make your decision. Be well.
It depends on how advanced the decay is when it is diagnosed, the kind of foods and snacks you eat, and how well you clean your teeth. If you don't have a diet full of sugary snacks and drinks, and you brush and floss your teeth very well every day, you don't run into big complications by delaying the treatment for a short period of time (a few weeks). Remember though,
the longer you delay it, the more advanced it becomes and the more damage occurs, sometimes resulting in significantly more extensive treatment. The cost can soar as much as 10X what it costs to have it restored sooner, so do yourself a favor and get it done asap.
the longer you delay it, the more advanced it becomes and the more damage occurs, sometimes resulting in significantly more extensive treatment. The cost can soar as much as 10X what it costs to have it restored sooner, so do yourself a favor and get it done asap.
Once the decay gets into the soft dentin (the layer below the harder enamel), the cavity will spread much faster. What determines how fast a cavity grows depends on the persons diet (acidic and/or sugary foods/drinks will cause the cavity to spread faster) and oral hygiene (not brushing at least 2x/day and flossing every day will cause the cavity to spread faster). Either way, if the cavity is left untreated, your tooth will get infected and/or the decay will grow to a point where you cannot save the tooth anymore because there won't be enough solid tooth structure left to restore it.
