3 Ways A Dentist Can Correct A Deeply Cracked Second Molar With An Infection
The second molar teeth are the rearmost teeth, not counting the wisdom teeth. If you have a deeply cracked second molar with an infection, you are likely experiencing discomfort when you chew because the molar is an important part of the food grinding process. There are a few different ways a dentist can correct a deeply cracked second molar with an infection. And the treatment process starts with clearing up that infection.
Root Canal Therapy
The dentist will need to remove the infected pulp tissue in the central root canal inside the tooth. The pulp is a material made up of a combination of tissue, blood, and nerve cells. When the pulp becomes infected, it swells up and starts pushing out on the root canal and surrounding tooth. Severely infected pulp can become necrotic, which could then lead to the tooth's death.
Your dentist can clear out the pulp using root canal therapy. The dentist will either access the pulp through the crack or drill a hole in a different location that provides better, more direct access to the canal. The pulp is scraped out with a thin tool, and the canal is then rinsed with antibacterial wash before a dissolving biocement is inserted to hold the canal open until the infection runs its course.
Dental Filling
Your dentist then needs to close both the crack and the hole from root canal therapy, if one was needed. A dental filling can correct a crack that is fairly localized towards the center of the tooth.
A wide range of dental filling materials are on the market. Two popular options are the affordable and durable, but far from natural-looking, silver amalgam and the more tooth-like composite resin. Because the second molar is so far back in your mouth and provides a role that takes on a lot of bite pressure, you might want to opt for the silver amalgam in this case. Few people will notice you have a silver filling in the rear of your mouth.
Dental Crown
Does the crack spread through much of the tooth? Your dentist might opt instead to apply a dental crown to the entire exterior of the tooth to close up the crack and hole and provide your tooth with more protection. The dental crown can come in metal, porcelain, or metal-backed porcelain.
As was the case with fillings, metal is the strongest option while porcelain is the most natural looking. Here the metal-backed porcelain offers a nice middle ground, but note that the porcelain could become damaged more easily on a second molar tooth.
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