Root Canal

Root canal treatment, is the process of removing infected, injured or dead pulp from your tooth. Keeping your tooth helps to prevent your other teeth from drifting out of line and causing jaw problems. Saving a natural tooth avoids having to replace it with an artificial tooth. The space inside the hard layers of each tooth is called the root canal system. This system is filled with soft dental pulp made up of nerves and blood vessels that help your tooth grow and develop.

When bacteria (germs) enter your tooth through deep cavities, cracks or flawed fillings, your tooth can become abscessed. An abscessed tooth is a tooth with an infection in the pulp. If pulp becomes infected, it needs to be removed. An abscessed tooth may cause severe pain and/or swelling. We may notice the infection from a dental x-ray or from other changes with the tooth. If left untreated, an abscessed tooth can cause serious oral health problems.

Root canal treatment could take 1-2 visits to complete but recent advances allow for faster treatment that can often be completed in just one visit with more accuracy and less discomfort.

The removal of the nerve, blood and nutrient supply of the tooth causes the tooth to become brittle and prone to fracturing which could result in the need to extract the tooth. A full coverage crown is recommended to prevent this from happening. Come and see us for a free consultation.