The very thought of root canal therapy is often enough to make people cringe, as, after all, it’s a painful treatment, isn’t it? Well no, in fact, root canal therapy shouldn’t hurt or feel any worse than an ordinary filling, and it will save your tooth. It seems to have a bad reputation because people who require this procedure are frequently in a lot of pain by the time they see a dentist. If you do need root canal therapy, you will soon feel much more comfortable because it eliminates the pain caused by a severe tooth infection.
If you do have tooth pain in Whitby, it’s better to see a dentist sooner rather than later. The danger in leaving a tooth infection is that it could become life-threatening, and the chances of saving the tooth are reduced.
How Do Teeth Become Infected?
Healthy teeth are covered by tooth enamel which protects the inner part of your tooth. Just below tooth enamel is a substance called dentin which is much softer and more easily damaged, and right in the centre of the tooth is the dental pulp. The dental pulp extends into the roots of your teeth and houses connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. It can quickly become infected if exposed to bacteria in your mouth. Infection can occur if you have an untreated cavity or lose a filling, or if a tooth is damaged, for example, if it becomes cracked or chipped. Any damage to a tooth should always be repaired as quickly as possible to help prevent infection.
Signs of a tooth infection include:
- Noticing a chip or crack in a tooth, or when you know you’ve lost a filling
- Your tooth feels more sensitive to hot or cold foods
- Feeling significant pain in a tooth whenever you bite, chew or put pressure on the tooth
- The gum area around the tooth feels tender and swollen
- Your tooth looks darker or discoloured
In the worst case, a tooth infection can cause facial swelling, fever, and may make you feel very unwell. When you have a severe tooth infection, it can cause a pimple on the gum which is a lesion allowing the pus caused by the infection to drain. Not surprisingly it tastes pretty nasty!
How Can Root Canal Therapy Help?
The purpose of root canal therapy is to clean all the invasive bacteria from inside your tooth, removing all the infected dental pulp. Don’t worry, as an adult tooth can survive perfectly well without it!
Initially, our dentist in Ajax will need to take an x-ray to identify the extent of the infection and the decay or damage to the tooth. Next, we will make sure you receive plenty of local anesthetic to keep you comfortable during treatment before making an opening in the tooth to access the dental pulp. Here at Margolian Dentistry, we use high-magnification microscopes when performing root canal therapy to ensure we remove all diseased tissues inside the tooth. Once we have cleaned out the tooth, it is disinfected and is ready to be restored. Typically, a tooth that has received root canal therapy will need a dental crown because it most likely has lost a lot of its original structure and strength, so placing an ordinary filling wouldn’t be sufficient.
If you are worried about a tooth or need an emergency dentist in Oshawa, please contact us. We’ll soon help you feel more comfortable.