Why You Need Root Canal Treatment
Our in-house endodontist ensures patients requiring root canal treatment receive the best quality care.
How Do You Know if You Need a Root Canal Treatment?
If you experience any pain, an injury to your tooth, or your tooth feels sensitive to hot or cold, book an appointment with one of our dentists. Upon examination, the dentist will look at the areas you are concerned about and diagnose the issue. Deep decay, repeated dental procedures on the same area, or cracks or chips in the tooth, may indicate a problem inside the tooth.
Signs of a Root Canal
- Severe pain while chewing or biting
- A chipped or cracked tooth
- Deep decay or gums that appear dark
- Swollen and/or tender gums
- Pimples on the gums
- Sensitivity to hot or cold that persists even after the source of the sensation is removed
When the pulp (the soft tissue inside the root canal) becomes inflamed or infected we involve our in-house endodontist.
At SmileMore Dental Care, our resident endodontist (a dental specialist for the interior of the tooth) works in tandem with your regular SmileMore dentist. Our endodontist removes the infection, fills the area and seals it off. Your regular dentist places a dental crown if required.
Dentist practices without an in-house root canal specialist may send you to another clinic for specialised care. These specialists are unlikely to place a crown themselves; they often send you back to your regular practice to place a dental crown over the sealed root canal.
Endodontists are highly specialised, making up less than three percent of dentists. They take on an additional two or three years of education in the specialty, making them highly-skilled at performing complex dental procedures, such as root canal treatments. Endodontists are experts in finding the cause of pain, diagnosing the issue and then treating the tooth.
The Importance of an Endodontist
How Does a Root Canal Specialist Save the Tooth?
Without root canal treatment, decay and infection can spread to the gums and jaw, or the tooth may need to be extracted. An endodontist carefully removes the infected or inflamed pulp tissue within a tooth. This procedure may remove nerves inside the tooth but these nerves serve little function in fully formed teeth. After the affected tissue is removed, a root canal specialist cleans the inside of the root canal, fills it and seals the tooth.
Some teeth require a crown or other restorative treatment to protect it and re-establish the tooth’s function. Once complete, the tooth continues to function like any other tooth.
