Our Glendale root canal dentists have found that many people are unnecessarily or overly anxious about this type of treatment. That is why we’ve put together this short overview of root canal therapy—we hope that this information helps you take control of your oral health no matter what the current state of your smile!
Why And When Root Canals Become Necessary
Root canal therapy is designed to remove the inner core of a diseased or damaged tooth. Once our team eliminates the dental pulp—including sensitive nerves, and tooth roots—we are able to save viable dentin and enamel.
The goals of root canal therapy is to:
- Eliminate exposed or damaged tissues
- Sanitize the remaining healthy tooth structure
- Fill the hollowed-out tooth
- Restore the tooth with a custom crown
Red Flags To Look Out For
The only way to know definitively that you need a root canal is to complete an evaluation with your dental team. However, there are some red flags that may suggest that root canal treatment is necessary. For example:
- tooth pain
- jaw discomfort
- spots of discoloration on the tooth’s surface
- receding gums
- hard-to-treat bad breath
General Overview Of Treatment
The first thing that we need to is to assess the severity of the dental damage or infection you’re experiencing. Using digital X-rays, we will get a clear picture of both the depth and breadth of damage.
Once we’ve finished the pre-planning stage, we will drill into your tooth’s surface. At this point we clear away compromised enamel and dentin. The next step is to hollow-out your tooth structure, by getting rid of existing dental pulp, nerves, and tooth roots. This is a critical step; if diseased tissue is left behind, your smile is at risk of developing future problems.
Finally, our dentist uses composite resin and porcelain restorations to rebuild missing tooth structure.
Do you have additional questions about restorative dentistry in general, or root canal therapy, specifically? We’re here to help you! Give our Glendale dentists a call to get started.