A root canal is a treatment used to save a tooth that might otherwise need to be extracted. A fracture or a decayed tooth will not get better on its own so if you experience temperature sensitivities while eating and drinking or sensitivity to sugars, it is important to see your dentist as soon as possible for evaluation. If your dentist believes that you would benefit from a root canal, they will refer you to an endodontist.
Root canal therapy can be costly but the expense is minimal in comparison to extraction and implant placement. A few factors that come into play which can affect the overall cost of root canal treatment include the number of canals, the location of the tooth, and the extent of the infection.
What affects the cost of root canal treatment?
Two location factors come into play here: the geographical location of your doctor’s office and the location of the affected tooth! Patients that live in a big city will usually pay more than patients being treated in a small town.
Anterior teeth, those that show when you smile, usually only have one canal per tooth and are much easier to treat than teeth in the back of your mouth. Treating an anterior tooth only takes about 30 minutes to 45 minutes and costs between $500 and $800.
Treating teeth in the back of your mouth, your molars and premolars, is a bit more challenging. These teeth typically have between two and four, even as many as five, canals and can take up to an hour and 45 minutes to treat. The cost of a root canal on a posterior tooth is between $850 and $1300.
Financial Options
Root canal therapy is typically considered a medically necessary procedure so your dental insurance may cover some of the cost of treatment. If you do not have dental insurance, speak with your provider to see if they offer an in-house financing option or if they work with a third-party financing company.
Identifying If You Need Root Canal Therapy
A small cavity left untreated can quickly turn into a large cavity that needs more invasive treatment than a simple composite filling. If you are experiencing any type of sensitivity or pain, it is important to see your dentist as soon as possible before further damage is done. Tooth decay and other damage does not repair itself so it is important to proceed with treatment as soon as you can after a diagnosis has been made.
There is also the occasion that the patient may not be in pain but the pulp and nerve are damaged beyond that which an antibiotic could treat. Without treatment, you may also run the risk of developing an abscess beneath the root of the tooth in your jaw bone which will need to be drained and treated with a round of antibiotics.
Overtime, a root canal treated tooth can become brittle since there is no blood flow within the tooth. If the patient does not maintain good oral hygiene, an infection can develop in the tooth again which may need to be re-treated with root canal therapy.