While it often gets a bad rap, root canal treatment is actually an important treatment that can be done painlessly to save a tooth and avoid more invasive care. Root canal treatment is the go-to method for saving damaged or infected teeth, when decay or damage has reached the pulp, or inner tissue, of the tooth. It offers many patients a way to avoid extraction of such teeth and retain their natural teeth.
Root canal therapy is often performed when a tooth is badly damaged and causing a lot of pain and discomfort. The pulp is made up of mostly nerve tissue, and infection or inflammation there can cause a great deal of pain. Root canal patients leave our office in much less pain.
When a tooth is damaged enough to need a root canal, the only other option is a tooth extraction. This can cause problems of its own for the patient’s future dental health, and we recommend working to save the tooth through a root canal procedure instead.
Endodontic treatment sometimes conjures up visions of complex, painful procedures. In reality, the treatment has greatly improved with better techniques , and while your appointment for a root canal will take longer than a regular filling, the treatment is well-planned and effective.
Root canals are a dental treatment that allows us to save teeth that might otherwise need to be extracted because of damage or infection. A root canal is an endodontic procedure, or one that deals with the tissue inside the tooth. Sometimes, that tissue, also called the pulp, becomes inflamed or infected through tooth decay, trauma or a crack in the tooth. It’s located in canals in the roots of the teeth, which is where the name comes from. Having a root canal means having the damaged or diseased tissue removed, the canals sealed, and the tooth filled with an inert material to prevent future problems.
Usually, an infected or inflamed tooth is very painful for the patient, and a root canal stops the pain, infection and inflammation that can also spread to other teeth o