Gangnam Dental Clinic: You Wanted an Extraction, but We Preserved the Tooth with Root Canal Treatment + Overlay

What a waste it would have been to just pull this out.

If you go to Seoul, there’s a place called Jaejunggul-i Dental Clinic.

Please go there once.

On a business trip, the patient suddenly developed pain and

received urgent treatment at a dental clinic in Mungyeong,

but because she lives in Banpo, the director there

said the following.

Wow... We’re truly grateful to that director

for mentioning our name..😭👍

The patient was a woman in her 40s.

As soon as she sat down in the treatment room,

the patient’s first words were these.

I think this just needs to be extracted.

It hurts so much that I can’t even eat hard foods,

and it keeps throbbing.

Gangnam Dental Clinic

These days, diagnosis depends on the equipment.

Gangnam Dental Clinic

For an accurate diagnosis,

we took X-rays and DSLR photos.

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At first glance... you might think there’s no problem.

There was nothing major visible on the X-ray or by eye.

So we additionally performed a Q-ray test,

and a crack was spreading beneath the gold inlay...

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And when we tapped it lightly with a finger,

it also moved slightly in a vertical direction.

In other words, it was a combination of ‘crack + vertical mobility.’

What is Q-ray?

Q-ray is a new diagnostic device that helps with accurate diagnosis by shining blue visible light into the mouth, causing cavities located between teeth that are difficult to diagnose and areas with cracks to appear red.

In other words, it’s a groundbreaking new piece of technology that can reduce misdiagnosis.

We made the investment to provide a more accurate diagnosis, even if only a little.

In the past, gold inlays were used a lot.

Above all, they were strong, and gold has high biocompatibility,

so there were no rejection reactions.

(Back then, I also often recommended gold inlays to patients,

saying they were the best...😂)

But an inlay that covers too wide an area

can actually cause cracks in the tooth.

That’s why these days, the trend is moving toward doing gold inlays less often.

If there is hope, we do not give up!

Gangnam Dental Clinic

After the examination, I told the patient:

*Overlay crown

: A method in which only the upper part of the chewing surface is removed and a prosthesis is placed over it😊

“Your tooth does not need to be extracted.

We can first calm the inflammation with root canal treatment,

and then precisely cover only the damaged area

with an overlay crown,

so I think you’ll be able to keep using your natural tooth.”

I thought she would be happy to hear that,

but the patient was in so much pain

that she said she wanted it extracted right away....

So I began a long persuasion session....

These days, implant technology is really excellent,

and some people use them comfortably,

but still, your own tooth is much better than an implant.

So I always approach treatment with the philosophy of

“Let’s leave implants as the last option and try to save the tooth as long as we can.”

Movement? It disappeared completely!

Gangnam Dental Clinic

After a long explanation, she agreed,

and we went straight into root canal treatment.

At the second visit, the patient who had initially had severe pain

and felt that the tooth was loose said this:

“Honestly, it feels completely fine.

The loose feeling has completely disappeared!”

Gangnam Dental Clinic

Root canal treatment is, quite literally, the process of removing the infection inside the tooth,

cleaning the inside of the root thoroughly,

and then filling it.

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As the inflammation disappeared and the surrounding tissue stabilized,

the tooth that had been moving vertically

surprisingly regained stability.

The final step now is prosthetic treatment

that covers the tooth.

But we did not fully cover it.

We chose an overlay crown.

Gangnam Dental Clinic

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This method does not involve shaving down the entire tooth,

but rather partially covering only the damaged area.

It is a conservation-focused treatment that helps preserve more of the tooth

and allows it to be used for a longer time.

An overlay is especially beneficial for teeth with cracks.

When chewing hard foods, it distributes the force evenly,

helping protect the tooth from splitting again^^

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“Doctor, thank you for persuading me!”

After the treatment, the patient smiled comfortably.

I smiled at that smile too.

How upsetting it would have been if we had extracted that toothㅎㅎ

The joy of saving a natural tooth that could be saved until the end,

that is one of the greatest rewards

I can feel as a dentistㅎㅎ

Natural teeth are more perfect as ‘mine’

than any prosthesis is.

Gangnam Dental Clinic

Dental treatment is a skill,

but in the end, it is also a philosophy.

Should we extract it or not...

In front of teeth on that borderline,

we always think this way.

I

practice conservation-centered treatment for natural teeth,

minimizing drilling, minimizing extractions, and helping teeth last longer.

If you are currently hesitating after hearing “let’s extract it,”

please show me that tooth once.

I’ll take one more look to see whether it can be saved 😊

This has been Director Sohyunsoo.

Thank you.

• Depending on the individual, symptoms such as sensitivity to cold, a foreign-body sensation, and bite discomfort

may appear temporarily,

and in rare cases, additional treatment may be necessary.

Treatment period: 250723 - 250805