Root Canal Therapy (Root Canal)

Root canal therapy is needed when the pulp (nerve and blood supply of a tooth) gets infected, which is often caused by a large, deep cavity. Root canal therapy is a simple treatment that can save your natural teeth and prevent the need for dental implants or bridges, if address promptly. The bad stories you have heard about root canals often is the result of people getting them when they are severly infected and their face is swollen. Severly infected patients are far more sensitive so the therapy can be painful. Symptoms of the infection are generally acute (quick onset) dental pain or extreme sensitivity to hot, cold or biting pressure, sometimes with swelling and/or a bump on the gum. If you experience any of these symptoms, we will test your teeth to determine if the tooth needs root canal therapy or if something else is causing the tooth pain.

Root canal therapy involves the removal of the infected pulp and disinfection of the tooth structure followed by sealing of the canals inside the root where the pulp was removed. Root canal therapy is done with local anesthesia and often is completed in one appointment but certain situations may require more than one appointment. Success for this type of treatment is very high but the degree of success varies with each situation.

We take the time to assess and listen to the patient to ensure they are receiving the right kind of care. We take the time to assess each situation completely because we often find people think they need root canal therapy, but in fact it is another, easily fixed issue causing the problem.

Information regarding post root canal treatment can be found here.

Root Canal