What is Root Canal Treatment?
Dental pain can take many forms, and can seriously impact upon your quality of life. Symptoms can include sensitivity to hot or cold foods, sharp pain when biting down on food or even a dull aching pressure in the jaw. If you are feeling discomfort or pain, this may be a sign that you require Endodontic treatment.
Endodontic treatment (also known as root canal treatment) is a means of saving a tooth that may be damaged by fracture, infection or decay. The purpose is to restore the tooth and surrounding tissues to health, relieving both pain and infection. Without Endodontic treatment the only other alternative is to have the infected tooth removed, and so replace it with either an implant, a fixed bridge or a removable denture. None of these alternatives is anywhere near as effective as being able to actually keep the original tooth.
Not only is Endodontic treatment often the best option for you the patient, it is also an extremely cost-effective way to treat teeth with damaged pulp. Indeed it is usually less expensive than extraction and placement of a bridge or an implant. Endodontic treatment also has a very high success rate, with many root canal treated teeth lasting a full lifetime after the procedure.
Endodontic treatment (also known as root canal treatment) is a means of saving a tooth that may be damaged by fracture, infection or decay. The purpose is to restore the tooth and surrounding tissues to health, relieving both pain and infection. Without Endodontic treatment the only other alternative is to have the infected tooth removed, and so replace it with either an implant, a fixed bridge or a removable denture. None of these alternatives is anywhere near as effective as being able to actually keep the original tooth.
Not only is Endodontic treatment often the best option for you the patient, it is also an extremely cost-effective way to treat teeth with damaged pulp. Indeed it is usually less expensive than extraction and placement of a bridge or an implant. Endodontic treatment also has a very high success rate, with many root canal treated teeth lasting a full lifetime after the procedure.
Root Canal Treatment
Endodontic or ‘root canal’ treatment can often be performed in one or two visits. First the area is carefully numbed so you don’t feel any pain at all. We will then create a small opening in the crown of your tooth to allow us to clean out the infected pulp from inside your tooth. After the space is cleaned and shaped, the root canals are filled with a rubber-like material called 'gutta-percha' to ensure the root canals are completely sealed. This completes root canal procedure but the tooth is still weaken and is vulnerable to pressures. Therefore its recommended for post and crown to be put on top of the tooth after the root canal treatment has been completed to protect the tooth from cracking and getting reinfected.
