Has your dentist told you that you need root canal therapy? If so, it is important to act quickly as this is an important procedure used to save teeth from the need for extraction. Many people have questions about root canal treatment since this procedure is unique to other common dental treatments.
Receiving a root canal is not an overly long procedure. It does take some time, however, to effectively prepare a person for treatment and perform the procedure. Most of the time, an appointment for root canal treatment will only last a couple of hours or so.
Is root canal therapy necessary?
If your root canal is exposed to oral debris or if it is already infected, root canal therapy is necessary to prevent further complications. The root canal is a part of a tooth’s anatomy. It contains nerve endings and cellular material (dental pulp). If a tooth is damaged by a crack, chip, or extensive decay, the root canal can become exposed to bacteria and debris that could infect the contents of the canal.
Root canal therapy might be performed before an infection develops to prevent complications or after an infection has developed and a tooth is at risk for extraction. Without treatment, infected root canals will only worsen.
What happens during a root canal treatment?
During root canal therapy, the treatment area will be thoroughly numbed with local anesthetics. This is an important step because the comfort of our guests is a high priority at our practice. In some cases, we might administer nitrous oxide or oral sedation to promote a worry-free and relaxing experience.
Once a person is ready for treatment, our dentist will access the root canal with very precise, small instruments. Then the nerve endings and dental pulp are extracted from the tooth and then the root canal is cleaned. To finish this procedure, the root canal is then sealed with a rubber-like compound to protect the internal tooth structure from future damage.
Sometimes restorations like dental crowns are necessary to keep the outside of teeth safe from damage.
To learn more about root canal treatment or to schedule a consultation, contact our team at Westside Dental Group today.