The treatment that ends the toothache rather than causing it.
Root canals have a reputation they no longer deserve. The pain people associate with them is the infection that brings you in — the treatment is what takes it away.
It is done under anaesthetic, much like a filling, and many are finished in a single visit.
Root canals have a reputation they no longer deserve. The pain people associate with them is the pain of the infection that brings you in — the treatment is what takes it away, and it is done under anaesthetic much like a filling.
Inside every tooth is a pulp chamber containing nerve and blood vessels. When decay, a crack or trauma lets bacteria reach it, the pulp becomes infected and inflamed. That infection has nowhere to drain, which is what makes the pain so distinctive.
A tooth can also need treatment with no symptoms at all, when the nerve has already died. That is one of the things X-rays at a routine checkup are looking for.
We do not start until you are fully numb. If an infection is making anaesthetic hard to achieve, we have ways around that — tell us rather than enduring it.
A small opening is made in the top of the tooth and the infected pulp is removed from the canals.
The canals are cleaned, disinfected and shaped. This is the part that determines whether the treatment lasts, and it is not the part to rush.
The canals are filled with a biocompatible material that seals them against reinfection.
A root-treated back tooth is brittle and needs a crown to keep it from splitting. With CEREC we can often place that crown the same day.
The deep infection pain is gone immediately. The tooth and surrounding ligament are usually tender for a few days — normal, and manageable with over-the-counter painkillers. Chew on the other side until the permanent crown is fitted.
The alternative is extraction. Pulling the tooth is faster and cheaper on the day, and then you are choosing between an implant, a bridge or a gap that lets the neighbouring teeth drift. Keeping your own tooth is almost always the better long-term value.
The procedure itself should not — you are fully anaesthetised, and most patients say it felt like having a filling done. The severe pain people associate with root canals is the infection beforehand, which the treatment relieves.
Many are completed in a single visit. Teeth with several canals, or a stubborn infection that needs medicating first, may need two. We will tell you which after examining the tooth and the X-ray.
For back teeth, yes in almost every case. A root-treated tooth loses its internal blood supply and becomes brittle; without full coverage it is very likely to fracture, and a split tooth usually cannot be saved.
You can, and sometimes that is the right call. But you then need to replace it, and no replacement is as good as the tooth you were born with. We will show you the costs of both routes.
Decades, when it is properly sealed and crowned promptly. The main causes of late failure are delaying the crown and a new cavity forming at the margin.
In severe pain right now? Call us — we hold time each day for emergencies.
Request Appointment (408) 241-4111Same-week appointments are often available. Most dental insurances accepted, with flexible payment plans for patients without insurance.