A tooth may need a root canal for many reasons. If you value your teeth and want to keep them, a root canal may be prescribed under various conditions and for various reasons. Generally, root canals are done when a nerve (the pulp) is degrading and dying. This can be manifested in many different stages or phases. If a nerve is degrading and there are signs that it is, a root canal ought to be done, even if the tooth doesn’t hurt at the time. The fee for a root canal does not include subsequent restorations, like a filling or a crown. Root canals have a high probability of success, but complications can arise, such as extremely narrow canals, undetected extra canals, perforations of the root, inadvertently broken instruments. We take all the care and caution we possibly can, but the unexpected can happen.