title: The hopeless tooth: when is treatment futile?
abstract: The decision to place a tooth in the hopeless category is by no means a simple one. There is always the possibility of being wrong, the possibility that this tooth may prove to be the exception and, against all odds, survive as a functioning component of the masticatory apparatus. These are the decisions that make us dentists rather than technicians.
authors.affiliation: Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University System, Dallas, USA.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Svec
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D018447:Medical Futility; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D012390:Root Canal Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data