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A root canal is a common treatment designed to relieve pain, save damaged teeth, and prevent further issues. Whether you’re experiencing persistent toothache, sensitivity or swelling, our treatment can help you keep smiling.
A root canal is a dental treatment used to remove infected and inflamed pulp from the inner part of your tooth. Cracked teeth can unfortunately leave the inner part of your tooth exposed, leading to diseased pulp that can cause significant pain and decay. Our treatment relieves this pain and restores your tooth to health.
We recommend root canals to patients who have severely infected or damaged teeth. If you think you might need one, it’s important to visit us as soon as possible so we can assess your teeth and find the best way to treat them. Symptoms that indicate you might need a root canal include:
A full procedure is completed over a few appointments, starting with a careful examination of your teeth and oral health. Our process follows these steps:
Recovery time can vary by patient, but it generally takes at least a few days for your mouth to feel completely normal. In that time, you can expect mild pain or sensitivity, as well as some bleeding. Applying pressure with a moistened gauze pad can help to reduce bleeding.
It’s important to keep up a soft diet while your tooth heals, avoiding any foods that are hard, chewy or overly hot, as this can aggravate soreness. Patients should be careful about chewing around the affected area, as well as brushing and flossing, though they should go back to their regular oral health routine as soon as possible.
Above all, returning to see us for your regular check ups is the best way to ensure your teeth have healed properly, and to prevent needing significant treatments in the future.
Our treatments relieve pain and help you get back to smiling freely. Get in touch to learn more about root canals or our other treatment options, or book an appointment. We can’t wait to see you.
There are a number of root canal alternatives, such as direct pulp capping or pulpotomy, which are processes designed to treat exposed pulp at less severe levels. They may be used as precursors to a root canal procedure, but are not often appropriate replacements. Outside of these treatments, a dentist may advise tooth extraction as an alternative treatment.
The cost for treatment will depend on the location of the infected tooth and the complexity of the procedure. Teeth that are located at the front of your mouth are typically easier to treat and therefore cost less, but molars cost more as they often have more roots that require treatment.
When considering a root canal or extraction, a root canal is typically considered preferable if the tooth is still able to be saved. A root canal can preserve the function of the natural tooth and restore its strength, where an extraction means removing the tooth entirely and potentially requiring a replacement implant or bridge. Root canals are typically cheaper while having the benefit of preserving the natural tooth.
Where a root canal is used for severe infection or damage, a filling is used to treat minor or moderate decay before it has reached the pulp. If decay is limited to the outer layers of the tooth, a filling is a sufficient solution, but a root canal becomes necessary once decay reaches the pulp.
The length of your procedure will depend on its complexity and the level of decay and infection being treated. Removing the pulp and cleaning the inner part of the tooth typically takes between 30 and 90 minutes. However, patients should expect to visit the dentist multiple times, including both a pre-treatment consultation and a later restoration.
Most people recover from their procedure within a few days, though the entire recovery process can take a couple weeks. Pain and sensitivity should fade within the first few days, and patients should be able to return to their regular diet after the first week. If pain persists for more than a few days or you experience continued swelling, it is important to get in touch with your dentist.
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