Root canal and abcess

[haras]

My 13 year old son had a deep cavity filling done on tooth #6 in November, well we had a checkup last week and the dentist noticed a small fistula on the gum line. After an X-ray, it was determined that the previously filled tooth was now dead and a root canal was recommended. The tooth causes him absolutely no pain, the fistula is rather small, it barely has any "puss." With him being so young, I'd really, really, like to avoid the root canal as long as possible. If the infection doesn't worsen and it continues as is, is there real harm for holding out as long as possible? Like, maybe a few years? Or is this thinking ridiculous?

 

[Gordon]

Two things:
1) It's a ticking time bomb, at some unknown point in future it may cause severe pain. You may get very little warning and it could happen at the worst possible time, e.g. Xmas morning.
2) If there's a fistula present then allowing it some time to fully establish will mean he needs surgery to remove it when you get round to doing the root canal.

 

[haras]

Surgery? What would that be for? And what would that entail? Also, what is the possibility that this could spread and potentially cause more damage to the surroundings areas or spread elsewhere in the body?

 

[Gordon]

To remove the fistula. If they get well established they won't heal up on their own even after the RCT is done. It would entail cutting out the fistula, grafting in some tissue and stitching things up afterwards.
It won't spread elsewhere or cause damage to the surrounding areas.