Subsequent stages of a small dental cavity

When you have a small cavity extended on the outer surface of tooth (enamel) it can be treated by a filling (with dental cement), but if you ignore that cavity it grows deep/wide and penetrates the next layer (dentin), still it can be treated by filling [the difference is that more of your natural tooth is lost].

Even if you ignore at that level, it may or may not be accompanied with pain and/or swelling. the infection reaches pulp. And pulp is the vital part of tooth. To save the tooth it is necessary to remove the pulp, clean the pulp chamber and fill it with an inert material and cover it. This procedure is called a root canal treatment.

During root canal treatment, the inflamed or infected pulp is removed and the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned and disinfected, then filled and sealed with a rubber-like material called gutta-percha. Afterwards, the tooth is restored with a crown or filling for protection

After the RCT, it is necessary to have a cap/ crown over the treated tooth, as treated tooth is not as strong as the natural tooth, it subsequently gets brittle. To prevent the chipping off of the restored material or the remaining tooth, we place a crown which distributes the stress the pressure of the tooth uniformly over the cap.

Even if you ignored the tooth in this stage, either you will loose your tooth(even better) or you will land with some serious infection or cyst or any other oral problems depending on your condition.

Dr. Richa Singhania