Root canal therapy, also known as endodontics, involves removing infected pulp tissues from the innermost part of the tooth. This prevents the infection from spreading, eliminates pain, swelling and sensitivity and can help save a tooth that may otherwise have to be extracted.
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The pulp inside your tooth is made up of soft tissue, including nerves and blood vessels. It can become infected due to decay, trauma or even a large filling, causing intense pain, discolouration, sensitivity and gum tenderness. In many cases, this would signal the need to remove the tooth to get you out of pain, but we can avoid this with root canal therapy.
Having a tooth extracted can cause further issues, including allowing your remaining teeth to become misaligned, and there can be high costs involved to have a replacement fitted. Root canal therapy not only removes the source of infection but enables your natural tooth to regain function once more.
Root canal therapy usually involves a number of appointments, depending on the severity of the case and where the infected tooth is in your mouth. To begin, we take an x-ray to closely look at the root canals and make sure there are no other signs of infection present.
We use local anaesthetic to minimise your discomfort as we remove the infected pulp from your tooth and flush the root canals with a special solution to clean them thoroughly.
We carefully shape the root canals and ensure all debris and bacteria has been removed. The clean canals are filled with a rubber material to seal your tooth, before a permanent filling is added on top. In some cases, a crown is used to restore the correct shape, size and functionality of your natural tooth.
Root canal therapy has a somewhat unfair reputation for being painful, but often patients find it is nowhere near as bad as they were imagining. We use local anaesthetic to minimise discomfort and the procedure feels similar to having a standard filling. The relief you feel once you are no longer in pain due to an infected tooth will far outweigh any discomfort during treatment!
The easiest way to look after your root canal treated tooth is to consider it the same as the rest of your natural teeth. With twice daily brushing and flossing, and regular check up appointments with your dentist, your tooth should stay problem free for a long time.
If you don’t want root canal therapy for your infected tooth, your only other option is to have it taken out. This does immediately remove your pain, but comes with a host of other issues that can be avoided with the preventive approach of root canal therapy. An extraction can come with additional costs if you choose to replace the missing tooth, and leaving the gap can cause your remaining teeth to move out of alignment and your facial structure to sag.
We offer a warm welcome to all patients looking to benefit from our dynamic and professional dental care and wide range of treatment options. Our clean and spacious practice and welcoming team help you feel at ease from the moment your journey begins.
Please be aware that we are a first floor practice that is only accessible via stairs.
Please contact us to find out more - we’re looking forward to getting to know you and showing you what we can do.
Please note we are currently unable to accept any new NHS patients.
