How is root canal treatment done on a crowned tooth

[Nikki]

Hi

My front tooth was crowned after an accident a few years ago. My dentist took an xray of the tooth last week and told me that the tooth has got infection and needs root canal treatment.

I would like to know if it is possible to do root canal treatment on my crowned tooth and keep the current crown as it is? Or would I need a new crown as well as root canal treatment?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Root canal treatment can be done in certain circumstances through the crown. This allows the crown to be kept as it is. The access for the root canal is made through the middle of the crown by drilling some of the metal and porcelain of the crown away.

Once the root canal treatment is finished, the access cavity is then filled with some white filling material. Ideally a crown should be replaced at this point but some patients may prefer to keep their old crown after root canal treatment.