What Is A Root Canal Treatment? – Lillybrook Dental

By Author: Rajalalakshmi Alagirisamy
Total Articles: 26
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Endodontic therapy — or root canal treatment — is an effective way to preserve teeth that would otherwise need to be extracted. By preserving your tooth, you can maintain natural biting function and tooth alignment. Thanks to modern techniques, getting a root canal is just as straightforward as having a filling or crown fitted.

Root canal is a treatment used to repair and save a tooth when the pulp – the soft tissue inside the root canal – becomes inflamed or infected. Left untreated, an infected tooth can cause pain and lead to an abscess as infection spreads to the surrounding bone causing swelling. Tooth restoration is achieved by removing the dead or dying nerve causing the pain inside your tooth, cleaning, filling and sealing the inside of the tooth.

As the tooth is weakened and susceptible to fracture, a crown is necessary to protect and restore the tooth to full function like any other tooth.

Why early treatment for root canal therapy is best
Lillybrook Dental always encourages and educates valued members of its community to be dentistry conscious – for their own health, appearance ...
... and wellbeing, as well as to reduce the cost of treatment by taking earliest action. This means being informed about the signs, alert to the need for treatment and being prepared to act promptly to save pain and discomfort.

Symptoms indicating you may need root canal therapy include, prolonged sensitivity to heat or cold, tenderness to touch and chewing, discoloration of the tooth, and swelling, draining of an abscess, and tenderness in the lymph nodes as well as nearby bone and gum tissues. Sometimes, however, there are no symptoms, making regular visits and a good oral hygiene regime the best way to avoid root canal therapy.

Is root canal treatment painful?
Modern treatment techniques and pain management ensure most patients find they are comfortable during the procedure. The team at Lillybrook Dental will walk with you every step of the way, managing any concerns or anxiety you have.

Mostly root canals can be treated in one visit, though some may require multiple visits. You can take assurance from the knowledge that most endodontically treated teeth last as long as other natural teeth and most teeth can be treated.

During a root canal procedure, we numb the tooth to prevent any sensitivity. The nerve is accessed and removed. Then, the open chamber is sealed off to prevent infection from recurring. You can think of getting a root canal similar to a filling that extends down into the root of your tooth.

Occasionally, there are reasons why a tooth can’t be saved. It may be because the root canals are not accessible, the root is severely fractured, the tooth doesn’t have adequate bone support, or the tooth cannot be restored. However, recent advances are making it possible to save teeth that previously would have been lost.

Concerned about root canal treatment? Let the Lillybrook Dental team help.

When to get a root canal treatment?
Concerns about root canal treatment can prevent people with an inflamed or infected tooth from seeking help when they need. Usually linked to the concerns about the physical pain of treatment and the financial cost of restoration, delaying treatment is rarely the ideal treatment pathway.

Root canals are recommended on teeth that are:

Severely decayed
Abscessed
Cracked (to the root)
Dying or hypersensitive