How would like to know of a way to fully understand what a root canal is? So you have been told that a tooth is dying and it needs a root canal, you’ve heard so many less-than-positive stories about the procedure that the mere mention of those 3 words gives you the shivers.
Sometimes the nerves of teeth get irritated from fillings placed over time. With time and with enough exposures to fillings being replaced and redone, the nerve dies and will form an infection inside the tooth. This infection travels down the length of the root and collects at the bottom of the root. Hence, teeth with dead nerves may not respond to temperature change, and will be sore when bitten.
As the problem is now within the tooth, generally there are only 2 options at this point. If the tooth is an important tooth and is strategic for an overall management plan and will serve to improve the overall outlook of the mouth, root canal treatment is recommended. This involves creating a pilot channel in the middle and the nerve is removed and cleaned with special fine instruments. Generally, there should be no significant discomfort during the procedure and it may take upto 2-3 visits depending on the complexity of the case. The tooth will generally need some form additive protective measure such as a crown or onlay depending on much tooth structure was lost.
If unfortunately, the tooth has minimal sound tooth structure remaining or if the outlook of the root canal treatment is questionable or poor, then extraction is recommended.
You can call the practice to find out more about any root canal treatment you may require.
