What Is Root Canal Therapy?
A root canal is one of the most common dental procedures performed, well over 14 million every year. This treatment can save your natural teeth and prevent the need for more invasive replacement procedures.
At the center of your tooth is pulp. The pulp is a collection of blood vessels and nerves that helps to build the surrounding tooth. Infection of the pulp can be caused by traumatic injury, deep decay, cracks, chips, or repeated dental procedures. Symptoms of an infection can be identified as visible damage of the tooth, swelling of the face, a sudden change in sensitivity to temperature or pain, and swelling in the tooth and gums.
WHAT IS AN ENDODONTIST & WHAT DO THEY DO?
Endodontists are dentists who specialize in maintaining teeth through endodontic therapy -- procedures, involving the soft inner tissue of the teeth, called the pulp. The word "endodontic" comes from "endo" meaning inside and "odont" meaning tooth. Like many medical terms, it's Greek. All dentists are trained in diagnosis and endodontic therapy, however, some teeth can be especially difficult to diagnose and treat. That’s why you may have been referred to an endodontic specialist.
In addition to dental school, endodontists receive two or more years of advanced education in this kind of treatment. They study root canal techniques and procedures in greater depth, for diagnosis and treatment of more difficult cases. For this reason, many dentists choose to refer their patients to endodontists.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING ENDODONTIC TREATMENT? WHAT IS A ROOT CANAL?
A local anesthetic will be given. We also offer anti-anxiety medications by prescription, and nitrous oxide is also available at an additional cost for patients requesting additional sedation. A sheet of latex called the "rubber dam" (we've got non-latex ones too) will be placed around the tooth to isolate it, keeping it clean and dry during treatment. The treatment consists of 3 or 4 basic steps, but the number of visits will depend on your particular case. Some treatments require 2 visits, but many are just a single visit.
In any case, it depends on the degree of infection/inflammation and degree of treatment difficulty. To us, it's more important to do it the very best we can, rather than to meet a specific time criteria.
HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE ROOT CANALS?
There are, of course, no guarantees. Root canal or endodontic therapy has a greater than 94% rate of success when performed by an endodontic specialist. Success can be lower depending on the amount of damage the tooth has sustained, such as a crack or a fracture. We will discuss with you the chances of success before any endodontic procedure to help you make an informed decision. Even if a root canal or endodontic therapy is unsuccessful or fails, you still have options.