How long will the root canal treatment last?

[Mona]

Hi

My dentist has recommended that I have root canal treatment on one of my right side molar teeth. He says that the tooth has become infected. I would like to know how long will a root canal treatment last? Are there any other longer lasting solutions that are better than root canal treatment?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your question. Root canal treatment success rate over 5 years ranges from around 50-90%. I am not aware of any good long term studies to show root canal treatment success say over 20 or 30 years as its difficult to follow patients for that period of time in clinical studies.

If root canal treatment is done well and the canals restored and sealed well, then its long term success would probably be pretty good.