Root Canal Therapy

How many people flinch when their dentists tell them that they need root canal therapy? There is never really any cause for concern, though, as dentists are very sympathetic to their patient’s fears of pain.

Your dentist give your mouth a thorough examination and will perform any necessary treatment with their patients' feelings in mind. If you have a dental insurance plan, give your insurer a call to find out what your claim limits are and what you will be required to do in order to make a claim for the treatment. This will help you claim back the money as quickly as possible. Your dental insurance provider may even be happy to pay your dentist directly on your behalf.

When the dentist needs to perform root canal therapy, it will be for three reasons:

• To stop the nagging toothache
• To prevent bacteria from spreading into the jaw
• To maintain the original tooth and not have to replace it with a denture or bridge

The patient is initially only interested in relieving the pain that is often excruciating but the dentist is looking a little deeper. Stopping the pain is only part of the deal. Making sure the pain does not come back is what really counts and to have teeth that look good too is obviously important to you both.

Symptoms of Root Canal Disease

Root canal disease can manifest with a number of symptoms. The most common symptoms of root canal disease include:

• sensitivity to cold liquids
• sensitivity to hot liquids
• Sensitivity to sweets
• Pain when biting
• Pain that transfers from a tooth to the jaw, the ear, the neck, or the temple
• Spontaneous toothache for no reason at all
• Constant or intermittent pain
• Severe pain
• Throbbing pain
• Pain that may occur when flying or scuba diving due to changes in atmospheric pressure
• Swelling

If you are experiencing similar symptoms, you need to visit your dentist because you might have root canal disease or other dental problem. Some of these symptoms may be due to decay, defective fillings, periodontal diseases, cracked teeth, or other tooth or bite-related problems.

They may even be disorders not related to the teeth. Check with your dentist. If you need to have emergency dental treatment because of pain and swelling, you may find that the treatment is covered under your dental insurance plan.

Treatment of root canal disease

The root canal is a channel that runs from the root of the tooth, where it connects to the bone, up to the top of the tooth. This canal carries blood vessels, nerves, and the complex cells that are the living tissue inside the tooth.

Everything inside the root canal is the pulp. When a tooth starts decaying or is cracked, bacteria is able to get to the pulp. The acid created by the bacteria irritates the pulp causing inflammation.

The more the pulp tissue becomes inflamed, the harder it becomes for blood to flow to the tissue, and the resulting pressure that creates pain inside your tooth.

By performing a root canal procedure, the dentist limits the spread of infection and stops it from destroying the rest of the tooth. During the root canal procedure, the dentist will remove infected or inflamed tissue, then clean, disinfect and shape the root canal space inside the tooth before filling and sealing this space.

Sometimes more than one appointment is needed to complete the procedure. A protective restoration, after root canal treatment, will help restore the tooth to normal functionality and help prevent tooth fracture.

Just think of a root canal procedure as washing invasive bacteria from the root; filling and sealing it with a biocompatible material that soothes the area. Add a solid filling a crown, and your smile will be as good as new.

If you have the symptoms of root canal problems, you need to get it fixed as soon as possible because the pain will only get worse. Following a good oral hygiene regimen and regular visits to your dentist will help keep problems like root canal disease away.