Our Services
Root Canals
About Root Canals
If you have a severely damaged, decaying tooth or a serious tooth infection (abscess), we may recommend a root canal treatment. Root canals are used to repair and save your tooth instead of removing it.
What’s Involved in Root Canal Repair?
The pulp is soft tissue inside your tooth that contains nerves, blood vessels and provides nourishment for your tooth. It can become infected if you have:
- A deep cavity
- Repeated dental procedures that disturb this tissue
- A cracked or fractured tooth
- Injury to the tooth (even if there’s not a visible crack or chip)
If untreated, the tissues around the root of your tooth can become infected. When this happens, you will often feel pain and swelling and an abscess may form inside the tooth and/or in the bone around the end of the root of the tooth. An infection can also put you at risk of losing your tooth completely because bacteria can damage the bone that keeps your tooth connected to your jaw.
What Should I Expect?
A root canal treatment usually takes 1 or 2 office visits to complete. There is little to no pain because we use local anesthesia so you don’t feel the procedure. Our patients frequently report falling asleep during this procedure. Once the procedure is complete, you should no longer feel the pain you felt before having it done.
After root canal treatment:
- Your tooth and the area around it may feel sensitive for a few days. You can talk with us about how to relieve any discomfort you may have.
- We may prescribe antibiotics if the infection spread. Use as directed, and follow up with us if you have any problems taking it.
You will need a follow-up visit after the root canal treatment. At this visit, we will remove the temporary filling on the tooth and replace it with a regular filling or a crown to protect your tooth from further damage. A metal or plastic post may also be placed in the root canal to help make sure the filling materials remain in place.