Non Surgical Root Canal

What is a root canal?

A root canal is one of the most common dental procedures performed, well over 14 million every year. This simple treatment can save your natural teeth and prevent the need of dental implants or bridges.

At the center of your tooth is the pulp. Pulp is a collection of blood vessels and nerve tissue that helps to build the surrounding tooth. Infection of the pulp can be caused by trauma to the tooth, deep decay, cracks and chips, or repeated dental procedures. Symptoms of the infection can be identified by visible injury of the tooth, sensitivity to temperature and/or pressue or spontaneous pain in the tooth and gums.

How is a root canal performed?

If you experience any of these symptoms, your dentist will most likely recommend non-surgical treatment to eliminate the diseased pulp. This injured pulp is removed and the root canal system is thoroughly cleaned and sealed. This therapy involves local anesthesia and is usually completed in one to two visits depending on the treatment required. Success for this type of treatment occurs in approximately 93% of cases. All efforts are made to ensure post-operative comfort of the patient however if a patient does experience any discomfort all measures will be taken to alleviate any and all issues. If your tooth is not amenable to endodontic treatment or the chance of success is unfavorable, you will be informed at the time of consultation or when a complication becomes evident during or after treatment. 

What happens after root canal treatment?

  Once the root canal is completed and the tooth is asymptomatic we will decide on what type of restoration is necessary to permanently protect your tooth. In most cases a crown is required to permanently restore the tooth that received root canal therapy however in some cases a simple filling may be all that is needed.