What is a Root Canal, And Why Would You Need One?

Most people have the number one question about root canals: “is it painful?”

The world of dentistry is almost famous for its horror stories about patients enduring flawed root canal procedures. However, they are mostly just urban legends that don’t exist. Modern dentistry has overcome any rational fear of root canal treatments with topical and traditional pain relief anesthetics.

Root canals are merely tiny passageways inside a person’s teeth that contain nerves and blood vessels, and every tooth has from one to four of these canals. A root canal treatment is a primary way of repairing and saving a tooth that has experienced severe decay or trauma.

It is a standard dental procedure that most dentists perform every week with no problems. Those vital blood vessels and nerves inside the tooth root canals are contained in a common substance known as the pulp, and when that pulp becomes infected and damaged by decay, it can become susceptible and painful.

At that point, the infection can spread and begin to build up puss inside the tooth canal. That puss can soon become an abscess, destroying the tooth if not treated promptly! The once-dreaded root canal procedure involves removing the damaged and infected pulp, then cleaning out the canal(s) and injecting a special kind of dental plastic into the tooth canal(s).

What is All Involved in The Root Canal Procedure?

When we schedule a root canal procedure for one of our patients, the first thing we do is to completely numb the area to be worked on and partially sedate the patient so they will be completely relaxed and comfortable. We will then make a tiny hole in the top of the tooth or teeth involved in the procedure and remove the infected pulp.

Then as mentioned above, we will thoroughly clean and disinfect the empty pulp chamber (canal) and fill it with a special plastic. The final stage of this root canal procedure involves closing the hole in the top of the tooth or teeth worked on and placing a fitted porcelain crown on top of them.

Most of our patients report little or no pain after this standard procedure, but we will prescribe pain medication and antibiotics for you if necessary.

You don’t have to be afraid of the root canal. We will make you completely comfortable and get you out of pain and back to normal.