Old Alabama Family Dentistry

Dental Myths

As strange as it may seem, some of our daily life and routines are influenced by myths. Some myths are relatively harmless, such as "Take your umbrella so that it won't rain," mother used to say to me as I left for school. "The world is flat," insisted Galileo's skeptics.

But there are some myths that are potentially harmful, such as "My tooth has a crown; so I'll never need a root canal."

Well, we're pretty much onto the umbrella fallacy and know that certainly doesn't work. And early explorers proved that skeptics were wrong about the flat earth. But what about a dental crown; is that true? After all, we know that a crown protects the tooth (photo shows crown being placed on a prepared tooth). The answer is a resounding "No."

We need to be really careful about statements that falsely impact our health. Once you have your permanent teeth, the goal is to keep them as healthy as possible so that they can last you a lifetime.

It is true that a crown protects, reinforces and covers the outside of a tooth, but a crown doesn't have any effect on the inside of a tooth.

Let's begin by exploring the inner anatomy of your tooth. The inside of a tooth contains a pulp chamber where the nerves, arteries and veins live. Nerves send signals telling the brain that food is too hot, for example. Arteries carry nourishing, oxygenated blood to the tooth, and veins carry the "dirty" blood away from the tooth for cleaning and recycling.

It is possible that the tooth pulp can become inflamed due to an injury or infection. Sometimes, when a very large cavity is removed from a tooth, the pulp becomes irritated when the remaining dentin layer is too thin to protect the pulp chamber. Other times, there may be infection in the pulp.

If a tooth's pulp chamber becomes irritated, inflamed or infected (photo shows infection—dark area—spreading into pulp chamber), the only way to rescue and preserve the tooth is to perform root canal therapy.

The words "root canal" used to send shivers down people's spines. As with many dental procedures, instruments and techniques for performing root canal therapy have greatly improved.

Will dental myths ever go away? Probably not, but as dental professionals who care about you and the health of your teeth, we can try to dispel some of those old saws. The better informed you are about your dental health, the more likely you will be to establish a regular oral hygiene routine and a regular check-up schedule. On-going prevention strategies can help you to lead a healthier, happier life and preserve that great smile.

If you want to check out something that you have heard in the rumor mill or around the water cooler, just talk to us. We are always happy to share our professional knowledge and experience with our patients. If it's getting that time of year when we should do another check-up, call and schedule an appointment right away so that we can best accommodate your busy schedule.

Smile on!