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Root Canals… Not Your Parents’ Experience
Picture this… you’ve been experiencing tooth pain for the better part of the last month, but chalked it up to too many sweets and not enough attention to your oral care. You start brushing and flossing, but the pain isn’t going away. Your doctor prescribed antibiotics thinking that would help… it didn’t. Your next step… visit your dentist.
Root Canal Techniques – Previous
After a thorough examination, you are told that bacteria have invaded the inner-most part of your tooth (the pulp) and to stop further infection, you will require either a tooth extraction or a root canal. A root canal is a dental treatment used to save a tooth by removing a damaged or inflamed nerve contained in the pulp. Your first reaction is probably, “Neither of those sound like a great option… I want a second opinion please.”
Your second opinion should be from a root canal specialist, also known as an endodontist. Their key function is to find ways to save teeth that can be saved, knowing that an extraction is generally more complicated and time-consuming than a root canal as it requires the dentist to make and install an implant to replace the lost tooth. Ideally, restoring natural teeth to good health, is the goal, to save further complications and treatments.
Root Canals
Root canals are recommended to save teeth that have damaged, diseased or dead pulp, but are otherwise viable to the overall health and function of your mouth. Generally, you would require a root canal if you crack your tooth or develop an extremely deep cavity that cannot be addressed with a typical filling. Both of these situations allow bacteria from your mouth to reach your pulp, which can lead to the devastating infection, swelling or the dying of the pulp’s vital tissue. If left untreated, the bacteria can spread to other areas of your mouth and body will dire consequences.
New Root Canal Techniques
If you ask your parents or your grandparents, there are probably few things they fear more than a root canal. In the past, root canals were daunting procedures that led to pain and long recovery times. This is no longer the case.
With the advent of new instruments and methods, combined with more effective anesthetics, the entire process has become quick and painless. Under the care of the team at Apex Dental, this therapy usually involves local anesthesia and may be completed in one or more visits depending on the complexity of treatment required.
If you have heard the words root canal and want that second opinion, we invite you in for a consultation. Keep in mind that your goal should be to retain your natural tooth and a root canal may help you do just that. It enables our Apex Dental team to restore your mouth to health and prevent further infection from the existing bacteria. Doing nothing is definitely not an option you want to explore.
