Root Canal Treatment
When you have an infection, your body has a defense mechanism to fight that infection. White blood cells come into the infected area, and antibodies go to work. You notice a swelling in the area, which is a sign that your body defenses are working.
Inside a tooth, however, these defenses don't work. The reason is that it's a strictly confined space. Instead of swelling, the tissue in your tooth ends up strangling itself and dying.
This dead tissue then feeds infection into the bone that surrounds the apex of your tooth. The diagram at the right illustrates this. The large cavity has involved the pulp of the tooth, causing the pulp to become infected, and it soon dies. The red area at the tip of one of the roots is the abscess that has formed. This process usually causes a toothache at some point, but sometimes it doesn't. Before the pulp dies, it usually causes heightened sensitivity in the tooth followed by an out-and-out toothache, which then goes away. |
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An infected tooth requires a root canal treatment in order to save it.
In a root canal treatment, the decay and the infected or dead tissue is thoroughly cleaned out. Then then entire inside of the tooth is filled with a root canal sealer material. The x-ray on the right shows a completed root canal treatment. While this takes care of the infection, the tooth is now fairly weakened and usually requires a dental crown to protect it against breaking. |
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Some people are afraid of root canal treatments, thinking that they are painful. But if the tissue inside the tooth is dead, there is no feeling at all. In cases where the tissue isn't dead, it can be numbed. If you're still nervous about it, we can use sleep dentistry to make you so comfortable and relaxed that you may not even remember the appointment.
It's sad that some people are so afraid of this treatment that they choose to have a tooth extracted instead. In our experience, a tooth extraction is the most traumatic of any dental treatment. In Dr. Kagan's view, whenever a tooth can be saved it is worthwhile to do that rather than remove it.
If you have a toothache or suspect that you have an infected tooth, give us a call. Dr. Kagan will carefully examine your tooth and then recommend the most conservative treatment that will solve your problem. Or, click here to visit our make an appointment page.