Root Canal Therapy

Root Canal Therapy is an aspect of dentistry which has received some very bad press over the years. Fortunately, the bad stories are blown out of proportion. The overwhelming majority of root canal therapies are performed with little or no side affects.

If the area around the tooth is not swollen and significantly infected, having root canal therapy is much like having a filling done. Your dentist will anesthetize your tooth and you will have no discomfort during the procedure.

Some people have listened to stories about bad experiences with root canals to the point that they avoid going to have one when it is prescribed. A bad root canal experience is possible, if a patient waits until the tooth is really infected, swollen, and in significant pain. The reason this turns into a bad experience is that the anesthetics used to numb teeth do not work well in the presence of extensive infection. As a result, we recommend that patients proceed with having a root canal when their dentist has prescribed it and avoid waiting until the situation gets out of hand.

Root canal therapy involves opening of the tooth to reveal the inner most portion of the tooth.  This tissue is called the dental Pulp and is composed of nerves and blood vessels.  During Root Canal Therapy, the Pulp is removed and the canal it resides in is cleaned thoroughly.  At this same appointment or at a subsequent appointment, the root canal space is filled with a sealer and a rubber filling material called Gutta Percha.

Toothology™ is planned to be the most extensive dental patient information resource available in the world. We are currently in the final stages of our web site development. When complete, multiple pages of additional information on this topic will be available. Please visit us again soon to easily find answers to your questions.