Modern endodontics, or root canal therapy, has made it easy and painless to save teeth when the nerve is infected or irreversibly inflamed.
Background
When a tooth is healthy, there is a normal flow of blood and nerve signals in and out of the space inside your tooth. This space is called the pulp chamber. The nerves allow the tooth to feel cold and hot sensations. As long as the pulp is normal, you can feel sensations such as cold ice cream or hot coffee. This feeling typically goes away quickly.
The nerve can be traumatized
However, in cases where a tooth has a deep cavity or has sustained trauma, the nerve will become hypersensitive. Or, the pulp might die, causing the blood flow and nerve signals to stop. This allows bacteria to enter, and infection to set in.
If you have a painful sensation in a tooth that does not go away quickly, the nerve is probably irreversibly affected. If your tooth is infected, you may not notice anything at all, or swelling could be present. In all of these cases, root canal therapy can save your tooth.
What is a root canal?
To save your tooth, we open a small hole into the pulp chamber, the clean out and disinfect the space inside the roots. Once the root canal space is clean, a sealer is placed in the root canal space to keep bacteria out. This prevents future re-infections. After the root canal is finished, we usually place a Bioclear overlay or crown on the tooth to strengthen it.
Root Canals Can Be Painless!
Contrary to some talk and myths, root canal therapy should be easy and painless. Your Waxahachie, Texas root canal provider, Dr. Craig Smith, has years of experience completing painless root canal treatment. We use state of of the art 3D imaging (CBCT) Benefits of 3D Technology to accurately map out your tooth’s root canal system. This allows Dr. Smith to carry out precise and painless treatment.
Technology has allowed root canal therapy to become a minimally invasive and comfortable procedure, especially when done by a root canal dentist in Waxahachie, TX. Call Main Street Dental Arts today to see how Dr. Smith’s commitment to concierge dentistry (as well as our office’s caring, family-owned touch) can make your root canal even more comfortable.