I had root canel problem some time last year, which had been fixed already. Yesterday, when I went for regular cleaning, the dentist said that we should put a crown on the problem tooth so that it won't crack in the future.

Is the crown really necessary?
How likely will the tooth crack without the crown?
Any other things that I should be aware of with respect to this particular tooth problem?

Thanks in advance.

I didn't know that not getting a crown was an option... My dentist did my root canal and said that I would need a crown afterward. Basically, once they do the root canal you have a hollow tube, and it doesn't hold up to the stress of chewing as well. So they like to put a crown on the tooth so that it doesn't just shatter when you're chewing. I suppose if you don't have the money right now, you could just be careful not to chew anything hard on that tooth and it could last quite a while, but that's just a guess. You should ask the dentist what the odds are and how important it is.

The reason dentist suggest crowns after a root canal is so that the tooth won't crack. Why a root canal tooth is more likely crack than a tooth with just a filling: One reason is the size of the filling. The less natural tooth structure the more likely the tooth will crack. Reason two: when you take out the nerve of the tooth, you are taking out the blood supply(moisture in the tooth). So what happens is over the years the tooth will dry and become brittle and crack. Now a dentist doesn't know when that tooth will break,so thats why the suggest crowns on a tooth that has a root canal. With the crown over that tooth(depending on your home care and regular visits to the dentist) that tooth can last a long time. I have seen people who have teeth that have root canals and crowns on them for 10-20 years or more. You have to take really good care of it for it to last that long. Alot of dentist will not do a root canal anymore without you getting a crown.Now every dentist is different in what they do and believe. Those are the reasons they want crowns on those teeth. They try to do them asap because they don't know when they will break, and if you decide to not get the crown and it breaks they may not be able to save the tooth. Thats why you do it asap. It really is important to have a crown on a root canal tooth or any tooth that has a large amount of tooth structure missing. Good luck. Just so you are aware it's not a hollow tube. When they clean out the nerve where it use to be the place a material call guta percha in there and then a filling in the tooth. So it's not hollow there is a material taking up that space where the nerve use to be. Again good luck.

Great post from brwneyez9.

One thing that i could add....you put alot of $$ into the tooth, would you want to see it crack down the road and risk losing it?

In the past, I've seen teeth with small restorations needing rc therapy, and then afterwards just a filling with a post.

Also, my friend has a few teeth that had root canal therapy over 10yrs ago, that aren't crowned yet, simply because no one told him that they should be.
He wants to run the risk and wait because of finances.

It's your decision. But, a crown is the safest, best way to insure that you'll keep that tooth around for years to come.