Dental Services
Root Canals (Endodontic Treatment)
Endodontic treatment, root canals, are commonly thought of as the "worst" dental service you could need or as extremely painful - when in fact they can be as comfortable as getting a filling placed. Root canals get their bad rap from stories of those who have ignored a serious problem. Root canals when done early, before the infection is too severe, are typically very comfortable.
As shown in the picture above, here is how a root canal is performed: after the tooth is numbed the doctor creates an access hole in the tooth to reach the nerve chamber of the tooth. Following that the infected nerve tissue is removed with small instruments called "files," after this is completed a rubbery material is used to fill the empty canal and the root canal is done. This procedure can often be done in one visit, but when the infection is more progressed, an additional step of medicating the infected nerve tissue may be needed, requiring two or three appointments before the nerve chamber is ready to be filled.
After the root canal is completed, the next step is to have a crown done on the tooth. A crown is needed in this situation because the nerve of the tooth has been removed and this was the only means of blood supply to the tooth. Now the tooth will basically dry out, become brittle, and very likely to break. To protect the tooth from this, a crown is placed to hold the tooth together. In our office, if the tooth receiving a root canal does not already have a crown on it, we will typically perform both procedures simultaneously; this saves on the total number of visits and provides a temporary crown on the tooth immediately to help protect it during and immediately following the root canal procedure.
Here are some reasons why the nerve of a tooth can become infected:
As shown in the picture above, here is how a root canal is performed: after the tooth is numbed the doctor creates an access hole in the tooth to reach the nerve chamber of the tooth. Following that the infected nerve tissue is removed with small instruments called "files," after this is completed a rubbery material is used to fill the empty canal and the root canal is done. This procedure can often be done in one visit, but when the infection is more progressed, an additional step of medicating the infected nerve tissue may be needed, requiring two or three appointments before the nerve chamber is ready to be filled.
After the root canal is completed, the next step is to have a crown done on the tooth. A crown is needed in this situation because the nerve of the tooth has been removed and this was the only means of blood supply to the tooth. Now the tooth will basically dry out, become brittle, and very likely to break. To protect the tooth from this, a crown is placed to hold the tooth together. In our office, if the tooth receiving a root canal does not already have a crown on it, we will typically perform both procedures simultaneously; this saves on the total number of visits and provides a temporary crown on the tooth immediately to help protect it during and immediately following the root canal procedure.
Here are some reasons why the nerve of a tooth can become infected:
- Decay gets very close to or reaches the nerve of the tooth
- A hard blow to a tooth causes the nerve to react negatively
- Multiple services performed on the same tooth can cause a nerve to become hyper-sensitive and start dying
- A crack in a tooth extends to the nerve chamber
- Severe gum disease allows bacteria to reach the tip of the root and infect the tooth
Before root canals were common practice, teeth in the above conditions were often removed as the only means of solving the problem. Now, many more teeth are able to be saved, helping patients keep their natural teeth for a lifetime. Root canals are still not 100% effective and in some cases even multiple attempts at endodontic treatment may still result in the eventual loss of a tooth, but this is a small percentage.
If you have a tooth that is causing you pain - you need to see a dentist for an immediate diagnosis. The sooner a tooth is diagnosed the easier it is to save the tooth. Saving a tooth is still a much less expensive option than having to replace it with fixed bridgework or implants.
If you have a tooth that is causing you pain - you need to see a dentist for an immediate diagnosis. The sooner a tooth is diagnosed the easier it is to save the tooth. Saving a tooth is still a much less expensive option than having to replace it with fixed bridgework or implants.