Any newer alternatives to a root canal?

[leaning]

Hello!

For a root canal, you poke a hole in the tooth, bore it out to remove the nerve, pack it up, and then put a patch on it. A lot of excavation and damage just to get inside. And since the hole you made weakens the tooth structure, now there is more grinding down to put a crown on.

There has to be someone out there who can get to the nerve without poking holes in teeth. Give a local, then some kind of mini-electrode clamp they can put on that one tooth, shoot some current and zap the nerve, and then when the local wears off, check to see if another zap is warranted..

Or maybe radiofrequency ablation like they do for other body parts to just target the nerve. Or the injection they do for a spinal nerve blocks that last for 6-12 months or longer...

I don't know. I'm not a troll here to cause disruption to a forum. I have a tooth that has been bothering me for a month, just terrible pain that the pills barely are working for. So I need to have something done. But I have good teeth (never a cavity, have 3 of 4 wisdom teeth, etc.) and the idea of grinding down a tooth just to put a crown on it just seems like old technology. And drilling holes in teeth just to get at the nerve sounds even more outdated. Anybody anywhere know of someone somewhere who can get at/block the nerve externally? I am willing to drive.

I appreciate your help and info.

Regards,

Leaning

 

[drmins]

Sorry. You are still in the 'era of drill driven root canal treatments'.There are chances of your case getting worsened,by the time new techniques are developed.You dare to wait?

However,those are innovative thoughts.The feasibility of these thoughts to be brought into practice is a topic for research and discussion and are disputable.

So, as of now, drilling a little rotten part, excavating a little and restoring it with a crown, is the only available option to save a RCT indicated tooth.

Keep smiling.
dr.mins