A root canal treatment in Oshawa is a restorative dental treatment. It can prevent an infected and inflamed tooth from requiring extraction, allowing us to preserve it restoring your oral health and your smile.
At Margolian Dentistry, we routinely complete root canal treatments, including more complex procedures. Our comfortable dental office is equipped with advanced magnification, including dental microscopes.
Understanding how root canal therapy works will help demystify this procedure, so if you need this treatment, you will realize it is nothing to fear.
Understanding Why Root Canal Treatment is Necessary
Each of your teeth has several different layers. The outer layer is tooth enamel, the hardest substance in the human body, which helps protect the tooth. Dentin lies underneath the tooth enamel and is much softer and more easily damaged. Right at the centre of the tooth is the dental pulp.
The dental pulp houses the tooth nerve, blood vessels, and connective tissues. The pulp extends into the root canals in the tooth roots. A healthy dental pulp is important while your tooth develops, but a fully formed adult tooth can survive perfectly well without the pulp.
If the dental pulp becomes infected or inflamed, it can cause a nasty toothache.
Root canal treatment is a procedure to remove an infected or inflamed dental pulp and all the tissues extending into the root canals. Afterwards, the tooth can be disinfected and permanently sealed to prevent reinfection.
What Are the Signs that I Need a Root Canal?
Root canal therapy in Whitby may be necessary if you take a blow to the mouth, as this can inflame a dental pulp. Other conditions that can cause a tooth infection include untreated cavities, failing fillings or other restorations, or cracks in teeth.
Common signs to look out for include:
- Persistent toothache.
- Increased sensitivity to temperature changes whenever you have anything very hot or cold.
- Swollen gum around the affected tooth.
- Tooth discolouration so it could look darker than before.
- A pimple on the gum nearest the tooth.
- Bad breath.
- An unpleasant taste, even after brushing your teeth.
What to Do If You Think You Need a Root Canal
If you are concerned about a tooth, it’s always best to come and see us for a dental exam. Earlier treatment can be less invasive, completed more quickly and less expensive.
Below is an outline of what to expect if you need root canal therapy.
- A dental exam and x-rays will show our dentist if the tooth is infected and, if so, the spread of the infection and inflammation. The x-ray helps us plan treatment accurately.
- Local anesthetic ensures your tooth is pain-free during treatment. Once it takes effect, we create a small opening in the tooth so we can see the dental pulp.
- The pulp is removed using specialized tools, including files that remove infected tissues from the root canals and allow us to shape them carefully.
- Once all the pulp tissue is removed, we disinfect the tooth. If the infection is severe, we may insert topical antibiotics into the root canals to eliminate any remaining bacteria.
- When we are sure the tooth is infection-free, it is permanently sealed with gutta-percha.
- The final step is to restore your tooth, which normally requires a dental crown. This is because it has most likely lost quite a bit of its original structure, and an ordinary filling wouldn’t be strong enough.
Root canal therapy in Ajax can help get rid of an unpleasant toothache. The procedure is technique-sensitive but shouldn’t feel any worse than an ordinary filling, although it may take longer to complete.
