“Should you have a root canal before getting a dental bridge?”

It is important to get a root canal prior to getting a dental bridge if there is an infection present. Doing so will help protect your oral health and ensure that you get the best possible results from your dental bridge procedure.

https://ladentalexperts.com/root-canal-treatment-cost-los-angeles/

That depends on the condition of your tooth and if there are any symptoms. Your dentist can advise you as he has X-ray and can do an exam.

Hello,
Not all teeth needing crowns require RCT unless there is a nerve exposure
or indicative of a root canal treatment.
Hope that helps.

Root canal treatment is done only if the tooth involved with the bridge has issue with decay causing exposure of nerve or a possibility of the tooth getting infected in future.

With regards, Thanks

Dr. Narkhede

Pankaj Narkhede, DDS; MDS; F-ISMU (hon); FAAID (hon)
Cosmetic Dentistry, Prosthodontics, Implant & Reconstructive Surgery

24602 Raymond Way, Suite L
Lake Forest, CA 92630
949-770-0966 www.dentistlakeforestca.com

No, a bridge or crown does not need a root canal prior to placement. In fact, in the case of a bridge, the long term prognosis for the bridge survival is greatly diminished if one of the teeth that holds the bridge has a root canal.

Root canal procedures - from a dentist's perspective - are indicated when a tooth is damaged to the point where the nerve is involved irreversibly. That's a discussion for another topic but teeth are living organs like other parts of your body and can be "bruised" (reversible damage) or "fatally" affected (irreversible damage). Generally, preparing a tooth for a bridge (which I'm sure has been explained to you) involves reducing the size of the tooth by about 1/16th inch to accommodate the width of the replacing bridge material (commonly now Zirconium). On a healthy tooth this is not a severe procedure leading to infection. On a tooth which has had medium or large fillings on it or a tooth which has had a severe fracture then the risk of needing a root canal increases. In that case a preventive (we use the term prophlyactic) root canal may be indicated so that the bridge anchor won't need to be drilled through at a later time to do a root canal. Root canals performed by an experienced practitioner are on average 95% successful in saving an infected tooth. No medical procedure is 100% guaranteed as I'm sure you are aware. Have a candid discussion with your restorative dentist about your concern. I generally do NOT recommend preventive root canals but that's just my personal observation over 40 years of practice whereby maybe 10% or less of bridge anchors require root canal therapy after their insertion. A bigger reason for bridges that involve future root canals are typically a bad bite on the finished restoration. Make absolutely sure that your bridge finished "bite" is comfortable in every direction which you chew: up, down, forward, backwards, and side to side. It's critical in my opinion that if ANY difference in the way you bite on your bridge feels different it needs to be corrected by your dentist, and NOT your dentist's assistant. Your subconscious will try to grind it away during your sleep or even when awake, causing trauma to the nerves beneath the bridge. That's the biggest reason for post-bridge tooth infection requiring root canal therapy.

Not necessarily but you should have the abutment teeth thoroughly pulp tested and evaluated to ensure they are healthy first to avoid getting an expensive new bridge and then having to access "cut a hole" through your new bridge. This will also allow you to avoid the pain that may ensue by bridging a tooth with an unhealthy pulp.

It is possible to get a bridge without needing a root canal.