The most common causes of infection in the root are deep cavities, fractured or broken teeth, trauma to the teeth or face, and periodontal bone loss. Severe pain, swelling, sensitivity to hot or cold, or a darkening tooth are signs that an abscess or infection exist.

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. We can remove the infection with root canal treatment and most-likely save your tooth from being extracted.

During root canal treatment, we clean out the infected nerve area within the roots. After all the nerve has been removed, the canals are sealed to prevent a future root canal infection. In most cases, your root canal procedure can be finished in one visit. After a root canal, most patients experience little pain. All patients are given pain relievers to minimize any discomfort, if they so choose. Teeth treated with a root canal need to be restored afterwards. Root canalled teeth are 60% less strong than a vital tooth. Consequently, this could be a simple filling, or if too much tooth structure is missing, the tooth may require a post reinforcement and a crown to protect it from further damage.

Root canal treatments are not as traumatic as they used to be. If you are worried about it, though, we can offer many gentle dentistry techniques, including computerized painless novocain, or even sedation dentistry.

Learn more about Root Canal treatment at the Patient Education Center.