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Toothaches are usually infuriating, at times, persistent. Sleepless nights are almost inevitable, especially if you have stabbing or throbbing pain. In most cases, the leading cause of toothaches is tooth decay that has reached the roots. The tooth might be the sturdiest substance in your body, but they are not indestructible. Just ignore them long enough, and they become structurally compromised, exposing the inner parts of the tooth.
But there’s no need to let cavities cause sleepless nights when our dentist in Sunset Hills offers root canal treatment near you that can salvage your decayed tooth.
For some people, the thought of undergoing root canal treatment near you puts the fear of God inside them, but with the kind of technology we have today, there’s no need to panic. Fear comes about because there is limited information concerning a particular subject, so let’s understand what root canal therapy is all about.
The chief goal for our dentist in Sunset Hills is to save your natural teeth at all costs. But first, our dentist will consider the probability of saving your affected tooth by performing a root canal. Root canal therapy is done to save an infected tooth. To better understand the root canal treatment, you will need to explore the different parts of the tooth.
Your tooth has a crown, the top and visible part of your tooth, and the root under the gum and extends into your jaw bone. The crown is covered by a very sturdy substance known as enamel. The enamel keeps all the inner parts of the teeth safe.
Beneath the enamel are the dentin and the dental pulp at the tooth’s core. The dental pulp houses the nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. It is the part that is “alive” in your teeth since these structures are necessary for the nourishment and growth of your teeth.
Under normal circumstances, the pulp is safely tucked under the enamel. But if you have a cavity (hole) in the enamel, the pulp will be exposed. When the nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue are exposed, they become inflamed and eventually infected. Bacteria will continue to destroy the nerves, and an abscess will form, which can cause a lot of pain.
The infection occurs in the root canal, hence the name. The purpose of the procedure is to remove the infected pulp, clean the chamber, fill it and seal it, to reduce the chances of reinfection.
Our dentist will take x-rays to check the state of your root. The x-ray will help determine whether the root canal treatment is the right treatment. If it is, then our dentist will do the following:
How long the root canal procedure takes will depend on the amount of infection in your tooth. Therefore, it can take one or two appointments. The procedure is not long since it takes about half an hour to one hour to complete. If the tooth has multiple roots, it might take one and a half hours to complete.
First, the procedure is usually performed when the area is under local anesthesia to ensure that the tooth is numb. So you will not be in pain. Second, the infection is the source of the pain, so once our dentist removes the infected pulp, the pain will be alleviated.
Now that you know more about root canals, are you willing to undergo the procedure? You can contact us at My STL Dentist to schedule an appointment.