Root Canal Treatment
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Hours
M-T: 8am – 5pm
F-Sat: 8am – 3pm
Emergencies: call office
Underneath your tooth’s outer enamel and within the dentin is an area of soft tissue called the pulp, which carries the tooth’s nerves, veins, arteries and lymph vessels. Root canals are very small, thin divisions that branch off from the top pulp chamber down to the tip of the root. A tooth has at least one but no more than four root canals.
Depending on the number of teeth and severity affected, root canals usually require one to two visits not including any follow-up visits. Your dentist or endodontist will numb the area around the affected tooth. The tooth is then drilled to the pulp area either through the top or the back of the tooth. This is done so that the dentist can clean the entire canal, and so that enough of the filling material will be used to completely fill the canal. The actual measuring is done with either X-rays or electronic imaging devices.
All of the diseased pulp in the tooth is removed, and the canal is cleaned out thoroughly with an antiseptic solution. This solution will clean all of the canals within the tooth. The canals are then filled with gutta percha, a flexible plastic material. A temporary filling is then put on top of that. A crown or permanent filling will be done after there has been no sign of infection. Crowns are most common since the root canal procedure weakens the tooth. The crown is usually placed as soon as possible, within a month or less.
Expect two to three days of soreness after the procedure, or longer if the infection in the root canal was severe.
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Working Hours
M-T: 8am – 5pm
F-Sat: 8am – 3pm
Emergencies: call office