Implant or root canal therapy: a prosthodontist's view.

I read with interest the editorial by Dr. Martin Trope in Volume 17, Number 3, 2005, of the Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry. Clearly, dental implant therapy has emerged as a viable treatment modality for the replacement of single or multiple missing teeth, and dental implants have experienced significant levels of clinical success. While I generally agree with Dr. Trope’s assessment that root canal therapy (RCT) should be the first choice of therapy for a tooth that exhibits signs and symptoms of irreversible pulpitis (rather than extracting and replacing them with dental implants), I do not concur with his assessment that other categories of teeth in need of RCT are necessarily better served by re-treatment. A careful assessment of published data for both treatment modalities is required to provide patients with sufficient data to make an informed decision about their treatment.