Root Canal Treatment

Root Canal Therapy
Preventing the loss of teeth - this procedure is done in our surgery and is a commonly performed treatment for dental emergencies.

Sometimes decay "digs" deeply into the tooth..
If the defect reaches into the dental pulp (the "nerve"), a filling alone will not be enough to repair the damage.

This tooth will be filled, but only after the damaged pulp has been cleaned out, and the now "empty root canal" filled with a passive material that preserves the integrity of the root and does not allow infection to destroy the area surrounding the tooth. The drawings below show a completed root canal procedure with the tooth restored to health.

As is true for all dental procedures, root canal therapy is usually painless. A local anesthetic ( lignocaine) assures patient comfort. The procedure is normally completed in a single visit, and our patients resume their normal daily routine following treatment.

The need for root canal therapy (endodontia) is frequently accompanied by extensive destruction of tooth enamel. A crown is often needed to restore the tooth to its original form and function. Pain may or may not be present when a tooth needs root canal therapy. Sometimes, an infected area that may be months old is detected from routine x-rays. The classic toothache is almost always the result of an infected dental pulp, and root canal therapy is our most common treatment of the dental emergency.

Root canal therapy can save teeth whose pulp (which contains the nerves and block supply) is diseased or damaged. Various conditions damage pulp such as : infection-causing bacteria, and injury or fracture to a tooth, and periodontal disease. When infection due to these conditions occurs, an abscess forms at the root end of the tooth. Root canal therapy must be then performed in order to cure the infection and save the tooth.

90% of all root canal-filled teeth will last as long as your other remaining natural teeth. Although these teeth become "Non-Vital" (because the pulp has been removed) they still receive nourishment from the outer tissues. Retaining your natural teeth is always better than losing them and replacing with artificial ones. Root canal therapy is the most common and effective procedure for saving damaged or diseased teeth.