Our Services / Root Canals Specialist

What are root canals?

Root canals repair a badly damaged or infected tooth root. The pulp of your tooth sits at the innermost portion or the root of your tooth, containing nerves, tissues, and blood vessels. When your tooth decays or gets damaged, it can lead to infection in your pulp. 

When this happens, inflammation causes it to swell and push against your tooth, which can pinch the nerves in your pulp and bring you extreme pain.

When you have a root canal, your provider removes the infection from your tooth pulp, which provides great relief and saves your tooth. 

When are root canals necessary?

You might need a root canal if you have:

• Small, pimple-like bumps on your gums
• Intense pain in one of your teeth
• Tooth sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures
• Tenderness or swelling in your gums
• Tooth discoloration

If you have any of these symptoms, call 1st American Dental for an appointment right away. If you ignore an infected tooth, it can lead to the infection of nearby teeth and cause tooth loss and possibly bone loss.

Are root canals painful? 

For years, root canals had a bad reputation for being a painful procedure, but those days are over. A root canal is actually similar to getting a filling. In some cases, a root canal can be less painful if your infected pulp is dead tissue. Many patients actually look forward to the relief that a root canal offers. 

In addition, 1st American Dental provides a gentle approach to keep you comfortable and pain-free throughout your procedure.

What happens during root canals?

Before your procedure begins, your dentist gives you a local anesthetic to make sure your tooth and the surrounding tissues are completely numb. Then they surround the infected tooth with a dental dam, which isolates the tooth for treatment. 

Your provider makes a small hole in the top of your tooth to create a pathway to get to your tooth’s root. They carefully remove the infected tissue and clean and sterilize the area to ensure it’s entirely free of decay.

Your provider then seals your inner tooth with a compound called gutta-percha and fills the rest with filling material. You might return for a second visit to receive a crown to fortify the structure of your tooth.

Don’t delay contacting 1st American Dental if you have pain in your tooth. Call the office, or schedule an appointment online today.