I am 43 yrs old and until 9 months ago, I had only 1 root canal.  It was done around age 30, and 6 years later it did fail, but an Endoconics DDS was able to save the tooth.  Then, in Dec of last year, I went in to have 2 old fillings on the upper right (tooth #'s 4 & 5)that had grayed, taken out and replaced with white fillings, by my regular dentist.  Instead, I ended up with 2 roots canals and 2 emperess crowns, which looked beautiful...however, a few months later, 1 of the 2 root canals became infected and I lost my first tooth - - - which was devastating to me!  I hadn't even considered that an option at my age. I am very particular about flossing, brushing,etc, and my overall appearance, so the loss of a tooth and having to wear a stay plate was very difficult for me.  My surgeon said that I had a "heightened level of anxiety about the situation."  I am now in the process of wearing a stay plate, have an implant scheduled, and will do an emperess crown over it.  The replacement should be complete by summer.  I was shocked that it is such a long and expensive process!  I always so enjoyed going to the dentist and now, I am fearful that even a simple filling appointment, can turn into such a tramatic event!  Are some people more suseptible to problems with root canal/crown work?  I have now had 2 out of 3 root canals fail...should I consider having future work done by an Endodonics specialist as oppossed to my regular dentist?  Could my nightime bite-guard have anything to do with additional pressure on the crown/root canal that could have caused a fracture and subsequent infection?  Your expert opinion will be greatly appreicated!  Thank you so much!!!

Sabrina, CA

Dr. Asensio: I am sadden by your situation and i would like to share some information that may help you understand what happened. According to the latest information by the American Association of Endodontists today root canal therapy is the best choice over removing the tooth when the nerves in a tooth fails to function due to infection of injury. The long term success is over 90 % when performed correctly. Endodontists( or root canal specialists) are specially trained dentist to treat this situations. however, most general dentist also have some training on the matter and some may have more experience than some specialist. So, who should do the treatment? This is a decision the patient has to make themselves, however, we should believe that the specialist should be a good choice.
Now, yes some people are more prone to infections inflammations and or less than ideal healing in general and this may influence the outcome of the treatment. This may be your case and situation. Having experienced treatment by different doctors at different times with the same result is a good indicator. Also, grinding of the teeth or Bruxism is very detrimental to your teeth. This may also be part of the cause of needing root canal treatment to begin with. Make sure your dentist recognizes this and treats you accordingly  regardless of any other treatment you receive. Does this mean all root canals will fail on you?  No one can really answer this question. Remember, saving your natural tooth is always better than the alternatives.(of the alternatives, implants should be at the top of the list)
I hope this information will help you understand better what may be happening to your dentition.