HAMILTON Root Canal Therapy
If you’re experiencing intense pain and sensitivity, it may be time to undergo root canal treatment. Though they’ve been given a bad reputation, root canals aren’t as painful as they seem. Call us and we can tell you all about it!
What Is A Root Canal?
A root canal treats the inside of your tooth when the “pulp” becomes infected. The pulp reaches from the crown of your tooth to the root where it’s surrounded by nerves, blood vessels and tissues that support tooth development.
Once your tooth reaches its adult state, it can actually survive without the pulp, which is why it’s removed during a root canal. Removing the infected pulp can prevent further infection from spreading and save your tooth from having to be extracted.
Root Canal Symptoms
Infected pulp symptoms are often pretty obvious and it’s best to visit our office as soon as you notice these symptoms:
- Swollen gums
- Sensitivity to hot and cold
- Pain in the tooth and gums
- “Pimples”/pus pockets forming on the gums
- Swollen lymph nodes around the neck area/sore neck and jaw
- Bad breath
The Root Canal Procedure
You may have seen a movie or television show where the patient undergoing a root canal treatment is clearly in intense pain while the dentist is using a large drill to get their tooth. Sure, it’s funny and over-exaggerated for the screen, but it’s simply not accurate.
The root canal procedure is quite simple. First, we’ll take an x-ray to determine precisely where the infection is. Afterwhich, we can drill a small hole in the tooth after the local anesthesia kicks in to remove the infection. To seal it, we insert a white rubber material called gutta-percha that helps support the tooth and prevents further infection from setting in.
In some cases, the tooth may be too badly damaged and require a cap, or it may need to be removed entirely and we can discuss the possibility of dental implant surgery once you’ve healed.
What Causes Pulp Infections?
There are a few different reasons the pulp became infected. If you’ve sustained an injury and a crack in your tooth has been left exposed, the bacteria can steadily grow to the point of an infection spreading. Other possibilities can be situations like:
- An untreated cavity
- Not maintaining the proper oral hygiene routine
- Faulty dental crown
- Not visiting the dentist for your regular six-month checkups
When a cavity or infection goes untreated, ultimately you’re going to end up with more problems than what you initially started with. Infection can spread quickly and makes its way to other teeth, but also into your bloodstream. It can also cause you to lose your teeth, which, over time, can negatively affect your jawbone strength, cause teeth to shift, and lead to more complex dental procedures or diseases (like periodontal disease and bone grafts).
It’s Not Just About Your Teeth. It’s About You Too.
Let us help you take control of your oral health again with our dental technology that we have. At Hamilton Mountain dental clinic, improving patient experience is very important to us as well as keeping every patient well-informed throughout any procedure. Call us today to schedule your next appointment.
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IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT YOUR TEETH.
IT'S ABOUT YOU TOO.
Let us help you with Invisalign clear aligners in Hamilton, Ontario. Improving patient experience is very important to us as well as keeping every patient well-informed throughout any procedure. Call us today to schedule your next appointment to see if Invisalign treatment is the best option for you.