The Death Cycle of a Tooth

Understanding quality care begins with a greater understanding of the “death cycle” of the tooth. Work that does not restore teeth to their original strength, appearance, and function simply delays future issues. This progression has been called the “death cycle” of the tooth. A dentist’s goal should be to reliably monitor and ultimately halt this cycle.

A dentist’s goal should be to reliably monitor and ultimately halt this cycle.

Read Article: Prioritizing Quality Dental Care for Your Family

Quality Metrics for Dr. Erik Davis. This will be updated roughly every 6 months and is based solely on the data we have readily available, it is true to the best of my knowledge. Currently this information is for Jan 2022 through December 2023:

Number of Fillings Completed over two year period:
1546

Number of Crowns Completed over two year period:
364

Number of Fillings where the nerve stayed alive after the filling was completed (No Root Canal became necessary after the work was completed):
1544 (99.9% success rate)

Number of fillings where the tooth did not need to be removed after the filling was completed (No extraction or removal became necessary):
1544 (99.9% success rate)

Number of fillings where the tooth did not end up with a larger cavity or fracture:
My best estimation of this difficult to obtain number is 1536 (99% of the fillings Dr. Davis completed did not end up needing to be enlarged within two years). We will specifically track this going forward.

Number of crowns in the last two years where the nerve stayed alive after the crown was completed (No Root Canal became necessary)
362 (99.5% success rate)

Number of crowns in the last two years where the tooth did not need to be removed after the crown was completed
364 (100% success rate)

As a side note, many of the crowns and fillings noted above were completed on teeth that other dentists would extract because the internal cracks and decay were so large the prognosis would be to poor to even attempt treatment. Some patients came to Dr. Davis specifically as an alternative to having the tooth extracted. Dr. Davis treats and saves extensively fractured and decayed teeth regularly, if you would like to find out more or to see his large photo gallery of fractures comfortably treated over the last two years please do not hesitate to reach out to Dr. Davis directly by e-mailing erik@auroradentistrymn.com; calling the office during business hours at 651.739.0640 and ask to see Dr. Davis at a no-fee consult visit; or becoming a new patient and ask Dr. Davis any questions you might have during your new patient visit.