Is it necessary to get a root canal before having a tooth crowned? What are the pros & cons of not having one?

Question: I'm having some teeth crowned, but the dentist is not doing root canals. I thought that a root canal was required before crowning a tooth. I've got temporaries on right now - should I ask him to do root canals before installing the permanent crowns? Or is it better to keep the root? I'm embarrassed to ask my dentist because I don't want him to feel that I don't think he knows his job, but I've had crowns before and my old dentist always did a root canal before putting a crown on the tooth. Can anybody help?

Answers:
Not always, that is a myth I'm always clearing up. Your dentist should be properly trained on when a root canal is necessary, which would also mean you need a post, which also means at least $1,000 more.

If your tooth structure is compromised by say a large cavity or something else, then you would need one. The reason is that the final crown needs something to hold on to while it maintains its function. When you prep a tooth for a crown, you need at least 2mm of tooth (in height) to work with, or the Restoration might fail. If you didn't, you would get a root canal done to avoid the pressure of compression forces directly on the pulp. That is why root canals are done. Then to reinforce to root, they place a post in your tooth, cement it on and use a composite filling to build up your tooth so that they have enough to work with.

Your other crowns might have needed root canals, but there is no way for me to tell you from here.

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Root canals are only done if it's necessary.

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