What is Root Canal Treatment?

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What is Root Canal Treatment?

Have you heard horror stories about getting a root canal? Well, most of them are urban legends. They aren’t real.

Root canal treatment is a way to fix a tooth that has been severely damaged by decay. It is a treatment done millions of times every week. Root canal treatment is simply is a way to fix a tooth that has been severely damaged by decay

What are Root Canals?

Root canals are tiny canals inside the tooth that contain the blood vessels and nerves of the tooth, and they are the tooth pulp. A tooth has between one to four canals. They keep the tooth nourished and give it the ability to feel heat, cold, or pain.

When a tooth has decay or infection, it can spread to the pulp and root canals. A traumatic injury to a tooth can also lead to similar problems.

Damaged Tooth Pulp

When the pulp is damaged, you may get a toothache or have sensitivity. The spreading infection causes pus to build up inside the tooth leading to an abscess. At this point, the tooth may “die,” and is no more pain.

Root canal treatment is a very safe and widely used treatment to remove the damaged pulp, eliminate the infection, clean the canals, and inject a type of plastic into the tooth. Before root canals, the only option to get rid of the infection was to remove the tooth.

What is Involved in Root Canal Treatment?

Root canal dental treatments are done in one to three visits, each lasting about one hour.  As always, everything is numb, and you do not feel anything.

On your first visit, your dentist will make a tiny hole at the top part of the infected tooth directly into the pulp, remove the contaminated material and the canals are cleaned and disinfected.

When there is no infection, a plastic material fills the tooth canal, and a cap covers the hole drilled into the tooth. Finally, the dentist places a crown on the tooth.

While we do prescribe antibiotics and pain medication, most of our patients who have undergone a root canal at Midtown Dentistry have had little discomfort and no pain.

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Our Patients Love Midtown Dentistry

” They are all very welcoming, professional and knowledgeable, especially hygienist Loan Pham. I recently got braces and my  teeth look and feel great every time I leave her chair, even now with braces – she’s amazing.”

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