Root Canal Treatment

Why Would I Need Root Canal Treatment?

Root canal treatment is necessary when the central part of the tooth, the dental pulp, has become infected and inflamed. Infection can occur if a tooth has a deep cavity or chip or crack, allowing harmful bacteria to enter the tooth. When a tooth is severely inflamed and infected, we can often save it with root canal therapy.

It is a very good treatment that allows us to save and restore a tooth, and otherwise, we would have no other choice but to remove it. Also, when a tooth is infected, it will often feel extremely painful. Root canal treatment relieves this discomfort, and the procedure should feel similar to having an ordinary filling. However, it is an intricate treatment, so it will take a little longer to complete.

What is Root Canal Treatment?

Before beginning treatment, we numb the tooth to ensure your treatment is pain-free. Our dentist removes the dental pulp and the tissues extending into your root canals in the tooth roots during treatment. We prefer to use dental lasers to remove the damaged part of the tooth, as this helps preserve as much of the healthy tooth structure as possible.

The tooth is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected so it can be permanently filled. Usually, the tooth is restored with a dental crown because it has most likely lost a significant portion of its original structure. The crown restores the tooth to its proper shape and size and ensures you can bite and chew comfortably again.

When to See a Dentist for Root Canal Therapy?

If you have a severe toothache and notice the gum around the tooth looks red and inflamed, please contact us immediately. It is extremely important to seek urgent dental care if you can see a pimple on the gum, as this can indicate a dental abscess. Without treatment, the infection can spread beyond the tooth and may even affect your general health.

Sometimes someone will have a toothache, but it disappears. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean the tooth has recovered, as the dental pulp contains the tooth nerve, and if this dies, the tooth will no longer feel painful. However, the infection cannot clear up without professional dental care. The sooner we can treat an infected tooth, the greater the chance of saving it with root canal therapy. If the infection is especially severe, we may need to remove the tooth to eliminate it, a situation we much prefer to avoid.