Root Canal Therapy

Root canal treatment, also known as endodontic treatment, is the process of removing infected, injured or dead pulp from your 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 the nerve of your tooth becomes infected, a successful root canal treatment lets you keep the tooth rather than having to extract it. Keeping your tooth helps to prevent your other teeth from drifting out of line and causing jaw problems and avoids having to replace it with an artificial tooth.

After a root canal treatment, your tooth has to be restored to look, feel and work as much like a natural tooth as possible. If an Endodontist performed your root canal treatment, he or she will fill the opening of the tooth with a temporary filling and send you back to your dentist for tooth restoration. 

Your dentist or specialist may use a permanent filling or a crown to restore your tooth. The choice of restoration will depend on the strength of the part of the tooth that’s left. A back tooth will likely need a crown because chewing puts a great deal of force on back teeth. If there is not enough of the tooth left, posts may be used to help support the crown. 

Root canal treatment may be done in 1 or 2 appointments. After root canal treatment, your tooth may be tender for the first week or two. Bad pain or swelling are not common. If this happens, please give us a call.