My tooth doesn't hurt. Why fix it?
Because pain arrives late. Decay and gum disease are both painless while they are small and cheap to fix, and painful once they are large and expensive.
Waiting for pain is choosing the expensive version of the same problem.
A filling
One appointment. The tooth keeps its structure.
Root canal and crown
The nerve is involved by then, and the cost is several times higher.
Why the nerve is a bad alarm
A tooth has one nerve and one signal. It cannot tell you a cavity is 2mm deep. It stays quiet while decay works through enamel, which has no nerve supply at all, and it only speaks up once bacteria get close enough to inflame the nerve inside.
By that point the cheap fix has usually gone.
The two you will never feel coming
- Gum disease. Painless almost the whole way. Bone is lost quietly, and bone does not come back.
- A cracked tooth. Often no symptom until it splits, and a split below the gumline usually cannot be saved.
What to ask for instead of trusting it
Ask to see the photographs and the x-ray of the tooth in question. Once someone points at a cavity on an x-ray, you can see it yourself. Then decide.
Watching a small area rather than treating it today is sometimes right. Make that call off an image.
Written by Dr. Peter Bonifatto, DMD, a general dentist in Las Vegas whose practice focuses on cosmetic and restorative work. General information, not a diagnosis. What your own teeth need is decided at an exam, with x-rays.
Ask about your own teeth.
A comprehensive exam with photographs and x-rays, then a written plan with real figures you keep. Starts at $99, with no deposit on top of it.