Endodontic Treatment

What is a Root Canal Treatment?

A root canal treatment one of the most common dental procedures performed, well over 14 million every year.This simple treatment can save your natural teeth and prevent the need for dental implants or bridges.

At the center of your tooth is pulp. The pulp is a collection of blood vessels that helps to build the surrounding tooth. Infection of the pulp can be caused by trauma to the tooth, deep decay, cracks, and chips, or even old fillings that were placed just short of a pulp. Symptoms of the infection can be identified as visible injury or swelling of the tooth, sensitivity to temperature or pain in the tooth and gums.

How do you know if you need root canal treatment?

Simply watch out for these common signs of infection:

• Pain while Chewing or applying pressure to a tooth.
• Prolonged sensitivity or pain to hot or cold temperatures after the cause of temperature change has been removed.
• Discoloration or a darkening of the tooth.
• Swelling or tenderness in gums surrounding the tooth.

In most cases, a root canal treatment will be done in two separate appointments. With the first visit, most of the nerve and blood vessels are removed and medicine is placed inside the tooth. This medicine will dissolve any remaining pieces of nerve and will also kill bacteria that went into the tooth. For this reason, we usually leave the medicine and a cotton ball in the tooth for at least a week.

At the second appointment, the canals will be thoroughly cleaned again and rinsed out with water and antibacterial solvents.  Once we are sure all nerves and bacteria are removed the canals are filled right to the bottom of the root tip with a rubber material that seals the surrounding jaw and tissue off from all the bacteria in the mouth. To prolong the lifespan of a root canal treated tooth it is suggested that the tooth is crowned.

Root canal treated teeth are unfortunately more brittle and do tend to break more easily, they also change colour. Therefore it is always better to protect the tooth with a porcelain cap also known as a crown.