Root Canal

Dentistry has come a long way over the years. Root canals today are usually painless.

Is it Necessary? - When a tooth has extensive decay or when there is trauma to a tooth, bacteria can get through the outer 2 layers of the tooth into the innermost layer called the pulp or the nerve. When the nerve becomes infected one of two things happens. Either the nerve dies without pain to the patient, or the nerve gets very sick before dying causing severe symptoms such as throbbing pain, extreme sensitivity to cold and hot, and swelling or draining from the site.

How is it done? - In order to remove the infected tissue, we must first access the inner layer of the tooth. After it is accessed, the soft tissue is removed along with and infected layer of hard tooth tissue by the use of small files. Once the canals are clean, they are disinfected. Once disinfected, they are then filled with a rubber material that will keep fluid and bacteria from getting back into the canal system.

Why do I need a crown after a root canal? - Because Root Canal Therapy essentially hollows out the tooth, they become weakened and have a tendency to fracture. It is not worth investing into Root Canal Therapy without also investing into a crown to protect the tooth. If this is a back tooth then it will absolutely need to be restored with a crown to protect the tooth from cracking. Sometimes depending on the amount of tooth structure left, front teeth may not need a crown immediately but may be necessary later due to discoloring that occurs when a tooth dies.

Will it hurt? - Dentistry has come a long way over the years. Root canals today are usually painless. Occasionally if there is a large area of infection, it is difficult to get the tooth completely numb because of a reaction between the anesthetic and the fluids from the infection.