Restorative Services
Root Canal Diagnosis
How did my tooth become infected?
|
The visible, exterior layer of a tooth is called the enamel. Beneath the enamel is another hard layer, called the dentin. The dentin surrounds a small chamber at the center of the tooth that contains the pulp. Tooth pulp is a soft tissue made up of nerves, arteries, and veins. The pulp extends from the pulp chamber down through narrow channels, called the root canals, to the tips of the roots.
The two most common causes of infection in the pulp are deep cavities and fractures or broken teeth. Both expose the pulp to bacteria that live in saliva. These bacteria, which are always present in your mouth, can cause an infection that can kill the pulp. Without treatment, the pus from the infection can eventually gather down at the root tip and pass into the jawbone, causing an abscess (a pus pocket). The abscess can then damage the bone that surrounds the tooth. The resulting pressure inside the bone and ligaments surrounding the tooth can cause excruciating pain, and left untreated, can even be life threatening.
|
|
Symptoms vary
You may have realized that you had an infected tooth because it was sensitive to hot and cold, was swollen and painful, or had given you a bad taste in your mouth. On the other hand, you may have been completely unaware that you had an infection because you experienced no symptoms at all.
Root canal therapy
An infected tooth will never heal on its own, and as it gets worse, it will continue to be a source of infection that depletes your immune system, which can affect your entire body. Years ago, your only option would be for us to extract the tooth. But today, we can remove the infection with root canal therapy, and save your tooth.
Why a Crowned Tooth May Need a Root Canal
Why does my crowned tooth need a root canal?
|
A crown restores a tooth that has been seriously damaged. While the crown protects the outside of a tooth, it can't protect the soft inner layer called the pulp, which contains the tooth's nerves, veins and arteries.
In some cases, the initial damage repaired by the crown may have spread from the hard exterior of the tooth to the soft inner pulp chamber. In other cases, a crowned tooth can sustain damage that affects the pulp. And occasionally, the pulp of a crowned tooth becomes damaged or infected for reasons we cannot pinpoint. In any case, when the tooth pulp becomes damaged, it becomes vulnerable to infection from bacteria that are normally present in your mouth. If a crown covers a tooth that has an infected pulp chamber, we must remove the infection by performing root canal treatment on the crowned tooth.
Why root canal treatment?
 A file removes infection |
We understand that some patients have anxiety about root canal treatment, but we want to assure you that it will be comfortable for you. Treatment is, in fact, the most comfortable option, because a tooth with an infection in the pulp chamber will never heal on its own. The unpleasant consequences of infection will worsen and become more painful with time, and may even spread throughout your body.
The procedure
 We may remove your crown |
Because your comfort is important to us, we'll make sure your mouth is thoroughly numb before we begin. Next, we'll place a rubber dam around the infected tooth to isolate it from the rest of your mouth. The rubber dam keeps the tooth dry and accessible for us and prevents anything from falling to the back of your throat.
To get to the infected tooth pulp, we'll make an opening through the top of the crown down into the pulp chamber. In some cases, we may have to remove the entire crown in order to access the pulp chamber. We'll then use a tiny tool called a dental file to carefully remove the infected tissue and shape the root canals to receive a filling material.
At this point, we may take X-rays to be sure that all of the infected pulp is removed. We then fill the root canals with a restorative material. Then we'll fill the hole in your crown with a restorative material or, if we've removed the crown, we'll take steps to create a new crown.
Root Canal Therapy Single Visit
How did my tooth become infected?
|
When a tooth becomes infected, it's necessary to remove the source of infection through root canal therapy. We understand that you may have anxiety about the procedure, but we want to assure you that it will be comfortable for you. Treatment, in fact, is the most comfortable option, because an infected tooth will never heal on its own. The unpleasant consequences of an infection in a tooth's pulp only get worse and more painful with time.
The procedure
|
Because your comfort is important to us, we make sure that your mouth is thoroughly numb before we begin root canal therapy. Next, we place a rubber dam around the infected tooth to isolate it from the rest of your mouth. The rubber dam keeps your tooth dry and accessible, and prevents anything from falling to the back of your throat.
To get to the infected tooth pulp, we make an opening through the top of the tooth down into the pulp chamber. We use a tiny instrument called a dental file to carefully remove the infected tissue and shape the root canals to receive a filling material. At this point, we may take X-rays to be sure that all of the infected pulp is removed. Sometimes, it's necessary for us to build up the tooth with a post and core. The post adds much-needed retention for the core material. It's cemented down inside one of the root canals.
Follow-up
|
When the procedure is complete, we'll schedule follow-up appointments to restore your tooth. Depending on your unique situation, we may use any number of techniques to restore the tooth, the most common of which involves the placing of a crown. When the time comes, we'll work together to decide which restorative procedure best suits your needs.
