How long will a root filled tooth last?

[Edith]

Hello

I have a tooth that has badly decayed and my dentist is recommending getting a root filling and a crown to prevent problems. He is quoting £1500 in total for the procedure but I am wondering if I would be better off getting a dental implant.

Could you tell me how long do root filled teeth last? Is root filling treatment usually more successful that dental implant treatment? Do you recommend I have the root canal treatment or have a dental implant?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post.

70-80% of root filled teeth if the root filling is done well will last at least 5 years. However success rate with implants is 90%+ and so on the whole the success rate with implants is higher than root filled teeth.

However if a root filling fails, you always have the good option of an implant as a plan B. However if an implant is rejected or fails, you may have to look at the option of a denture or a bridge or a costly repeat implant re-treatment.

On the whole, in my opinion I think its better to save teeth that can be saved, unless the tooth prognosis is hopeless in which case, an implant is better than doing heroic dentistry thats likely to fail.

So without seeing you its difficult for me to recommend one option over another and really each case has to be assessed on its own merits.

[Endodontist]

The answer to this question depends on what you determine as success. If by success you mean lack of absolutely any minor discomfort associated with the tooth and healing of the periapical disease on a radiograph the likelihood of the root canal treatment being successful is around 85% for infected teeth and above 96% for uninfected teeth. After the root canal has been successful the longevity depends on the amount of remaining tooth structure. We have all seen front teeth which have a large amount if tooth tissue remaining still in place 20 years later. Implants DO NOT have a higher success rate they have a totally different criteria for success. Many of the implant studies look at whether the implant is still present. This is not success this is more like survival! So if you apply a criteria of survival to root canal treated teeth the rate increases to a 97% 8 year survival rate. This means the patient may have minor symptoms or disease on the radiograph associated with these teeth but not enough to have the tooth removed. Implant survival rate is around 90%. However there is no point quoting all these figures, because they mean nothing to a specific individual case !! If you have a large amount of tooth structure and the root canal treatment is straightforward the chances are the tooth will last a long time, perhaps Upwards of 7 years. However if you have hardly any tooth remaining and or the root canal is very complicated you are better to go for an implant. The option of having a root canal treatment or am implant are meant to compliment each other not be mutually exclusive!! So the first option for a patient should always be root canal treatment but if the tooth isn't restorable, implants offer the best replacement which is currently available for the natural tooth.