The Root Canal Procedure: Explained

When a tooth’s nerve tissue or pulp is damaged, it breaks down and bacteria begin to multiply within the pulp chamber. Before the bacteria can cause an infection or an abscessed tooth, our doctors at Fairwood Dental Center may recommend a root canal. A root canal is a treatment used to repair and save a tooth that is badly decayed or becomes infected. If you’ve been told that a root canal is right for you, we’d like to explain the process to make you feel calmer about the procedure itself.

The root canal procedure itself requires one or more office visits and can be performed right here in the office. The first step in the procedure is to take an X-ray to see the shape of the root canals and determine if there are any signs of infection in the surrounding bone. Once anesthesia is administered, your doctor will make an opening in the crown of the tooth. Very small instruments are used to clean the pulp from the pulp chamber and root canals and to shape the space for filling. After the empty space is cleaned and shaped, your dentist will fill the root canals with a biocompatible material called gutta-percha. In most cases, a temporary filling is placed to close the opening. There may be some soreness after the procedure, but that is perfectly normal.

If you have a tooth that is causing you pain, please give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn more about the services provided at the practice, visit www.fairwooddental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Fairwood Dental Center in Renton, WA, call 425-271-7725.

When a Root Canal Fails

A root canal can help relieve you from pain and more importantly can prevent the need for a tooth extraction. For the most part, root canals are successful – and your dental treatment may last a lifetime. However, when root canals don’t heal, endodontic retreatment is often necessary to save the tooth. If your tooth requires endodontic retreatment, our doctors at Fairwood Dental Center can help.

Endodontic therapy is a complicated procedure that uses files to extract infected pulp from the root. When the infection remains in the root’s canals, the tooth may not heal, causing it to become reinfected. There are several ways this can happen:

• Newly formed tooth decay can cause a leakage of bacteria into the root canal.


• The dental crown used to protect the tooth cracks, breaks or is placed too late, allowing new infection to enter the root.


• The roots weren’t cleaned thoroughly or were missed completely.


• The roots were incorrectly sealed or filled.


•  The tooth was contaminated by saliva during the procedure.

If you’ve experienced a root canal gone wrong, give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn more about the services we provide, visit www.fairwooddental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Fairwood Dental Center in Renton, WA, call 425-271-7725.

Root Canal Therapy

Endodontics is the dental specialty that deals with the nerves of the teeth, and root canal therapy is the most common procedure within endodontics. Our team here at Fairwood Dental Center offers root canal therapy to patients with a deep infection in the nerves of their teeth, as an alternative to tooth extraction. During a root canal, the nerves of the teeth are removed, as well as any other infected tissue. Here is a breakdown of the procedure:

 

1. The patient receives local anesthesia so they don’t experience any pain.

2. We drill a small hole into the tooth to reach the canal.

3. Infected tissue and nerves are removed using a special tool.

4. Once the infection is gone, the hole is filled with gutta percha.

5. The patient returns to our office in two weeks to be fitted with a crown.

 

It is important that patients not skip the process of getting a crown, because without nerves, the tooth becomes dead. This makes it susceptible to breaking off, and requiring a bridge or dental implant to replace it. Visit our website,www.fairwooddental.com or call 425-271-7725 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Harinder S. Walia, Dr. Aishwarya Ramanan or Dr. Arti Bhan-Kachroo.