Under certain circumstances, Dr. Holovnia may recommend a root canal in order to properly care for your oral health and provide you the greatest oral health care.
Root Canals are common procedures that involve the cleaning of a tooth’s root. The purpose is to prevent the loss of the tooth in the least invasive and more natural way possible.
A tooth is made up of nerves, pulp, and blood vessels in the innermost part. Tooth decay, cracks, and other damage and trauma can expose the innermost part of your tooth to bacteria and create an infection that should be dealt with in a timely manner if the tooth is to be saved in some way.
Root Canals are performed to clean, disinfect, and ultimately seal off the innermost part of the tooth, which is occupied by the pulp. Properly treated root canals give your body a chance to repair damage done to bone, soft tissue, and the affected areas of the mouth.
When a root canal is not performed in a timely manner, you jeopardize your ability for the tooth to be saved. Untreated, you are likely to encounter pain, swelling, and the tooth will eventually need to be extracted.
Root canals are not always successful, but the sooner you act on a tooth that requires this procedure, the higher your chances are of saving it.
When a root canal is unsuccessful or fails in subsequent years, you may need to seek out additional treatment. Although a root canal is a preferred method for dealing with a cracked tooth, there are additional options that can be considered should a root canal fail.
Our staff at Coppell Family Dentistry will ensure that you are given quality care for your root canal procedure.
In the root canal procedure, the goal is to remove the tooth’s inflamed or infected nerve tissue so the tooth can still be maintained in your mouth (recall that the nerve in a tooth is located in a canal within the root – hence the term “root canal”). We remove the nerve from the tooth, clean the tooth, and then fill the root canals with a non-reactive filling material.
Once a root canal has been completed, the next step is to have a crown placed on the tooth. If there isn’t a lot of tooth structure remaining above the gum (not an uncommon situation), we might place a post. Remember that while the goal of a post is to help us give the tooth more support, not every root canaled tooth needs to have a post. That being said, almost all root-canal treated teeth (with a few exceptions) should have a crown placed as a final restoration in order to protect the tooth.
Yes. Teeth that have had root canal treatment can still get decay. The reason for this situation is that the bacteria in your mouth can still affect the surfaces of your teeth – regardless of whether or not the tooth has a nerve. If you are a patient with dry mouth, or a history of getting multiple cavities, you need to be extra thorough in your oral hygiene. When a tooth with a nerve starts to get decay, you will likely feel it; but when a tooth that has had root canal starts to get decay, you won’t feel it because the tooth has no nerve. Thus, if you have had root canal treatment, it’s imperative that you keep your mouth clean, and you come for your routine 6-month checkups.
This is a great question because there’s a time and a place for both- it depends upon how much tooth is left, and how much time and expense it would cost to save the tooth vs. having the dental implant.