Root canal treatment is a surgical procedure that helps to save a severely damaged tooth from extraction. The procedure involves removing the inflamed inside of the tooth, together with the nerve and blood vessels. This helps to relieve pain, eliminate infection, and restore the tooth to its original shape and functionality.
The most common cause of a root canal infection is tooth decay. When bacteria get into the cavity, decay starts eating away the soft tissues of the tooth, causing tooth pulp infection. The pulp contains nerves and blood vessels that help to nourish the tooth and give it sensation. When an infection develops in it, it gets inflamed and swollen. If not treated in time, the infection can spread to the tooth root and adjacent teeth.
The second most common cause is external trauma to the mouth, such as a hard blow to the face or chipped or cracked teeth. The cracks can allow the bacteria in your mouth to infect the deeper layers of your teeth.
When you visit us for your initial consultation, the dentist will conduct a thorough diagnosis of your oral condition. They will determine whether root canal therapy will help you or not. The treatment is mostly recommended for teeth that are badly damaged and infected due to cavities or external trauma.
For the procedure, we will administer local anesthesia to numb your teeth, gums, and jaw. Using dental instruments, the dentist will make a tiny hole in your tooth’s crown. This allows them to extract the infected pulp and access the root canals with dental files. The dentist will also scrub out any debris from these canals to remove them entirely from your tooth’s root chamber.
After removing the pulp and the infection from your tooth’s root canals, the dentist will seal them with inert filling material to prevent future infections. The dentist will also reshape your tooth so as to accommodate a dental crown that will be placed on it after the procedure to prevent further damage or breakage. Finally, the dentist will place a porcelain crown on the tooth and bond it firmly using dental adhesives. They will then polish it and take you through post-treatment instructions for optimum care of your repaired teeth.
If left untreated for long, root canal infections can cause an abscessed tooth, severe pain, swelling of the gums around your tooth, pus discharge from the gums, and fever, along with other symptoms. A root canal procedure can help eliminate all these symptoms and restore your tooth’s health and functionality.
Schedule an appointment at Robert Baker Dentistry to learn more about the root canal procedure. We are located at 1927 N Gilbert Rd Ste 12, Mesa, AZ 85203. Contact us at (480) 461-9944 or visit our website to book an appointment.
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