Secret To Not Getting A Root Canal For The Rest Of Your Life

The secret is to have a big margin of safety by filling cavities as early as possible. But here is the problem with that: in order to fill the cavity miles before it becomes a root canal, it cannot rely on you. Rather, it has to rely on your dentist.

The tooth is very similar in shape to an apple. That’s why there are so many dental offices named after apples. I digress a little. But the point is, in both an apple and a tooth, the hardest part is the outside. Once the hardest part is broken, the inside is rather soft and takes only a few months to get bad. Therefore, you have to fix the cavity while it is only on the skin/outside.

Here is the problem: when the cavity is on the outside surface, it doesn’t give you any sign or pain at all. So, it has to be the dentist who finds it. Here is another problem with that: You can NEVER tell whether the dentist is telling you the truth or if the dentist is trying to upgrade his shiny Infiniti car. So, the trust in the dentist is the most important factor.

When the trust is not there, what most people do is wait. Then you will definitely know something is wrong with the tooth. But at that point, the filling is already inside—like in the apple—and it is often very close to the hollow center, which is the source of the need for a root canal.

At that point, you don't need the dentist's trust. You, the dentist, and the whole world know there is a problem. Then what you need is not trust but the dentist's tremendous skill—AKA root canal skill.

In short, the smaller the filling, the greater the dentist’s trust must be. The larger the filling, the more skill a dentist must have.