Root Renewal to Elevate Your Oral Health

Dental restorations are common procedures that help to restore your decayed or damaged teeth. Root canal therapy (RCT) is one such restorative treatment that aids in tooth restoration with pulpal infection. RCT helps preserve your natural tooth structure, preventing the need for extractions. 

Buffalo Grove, Illinois dentist and the team offer state-of-the-art root canal treatments with minimal pain and discomfort and long-lasting results. 

What is meant by root canal therapy? 

Root canal treatment (RCT), or root canal therapy, is a popular endodontic procedure involving the removal of infected pulp. A pulp is a mass of connective tissue present within the central core of the tooth that extends from the crown to the roots. It consists of nerves and blood vessels and provides all the necessary nutrition and blood supply to the tooth. 

This is an effective procedure for severely decayed or damaged teeth that cannot be restored through regular dental fillings. 

When is root canal therapy recommended?

Any infection that involves the pulp can be distressing since it damages the nerve endings, causing pain. Thus, in such cases, your dentist may recommend root canal therapy. 

Signs that indicate the need for root canal therapy include:

• Excruciating pain in the tooth that does not subside easily
• Extreme sensitivity to heat and cold temperatures 
• Swollen gums and jaw
• Presence of an abscess (boil or a pimple on the gums) with or without pus discharge
• Tooth discoloration
• Pain when pressure is applied (while biting or chewing)
• A chipped or cracked tooth 
• Mobile tooth 

How is root canal therapy performed? 

Root canal therapy involves the following steps that may usually require 1 to 2 settings depending on the severity of the infection. 

Pre-procedure 

• Your dentist will evaluate the affected tooth through a dental exam.
• The extent of infection and the tooth morphology will be carefully assessed through dental X-rays.  

Procedure

• Your dentist will administer a local anesthetic to numb the tooth and surrounding tissues.
• The decayed tissues will be removed, and an access opening will be done to reach the pulp. 
• The coronal pulp will be excavated using rotary instruments.
• The canals will be located and opened to remove the pulp from the canals. 
• Your dentist will clean the root canals using rotary files and prepare the canal accordingly.
• The canals will be thoroughly cleaned and filled with gutta-percha and sealed together with adhesive cement. 
• The tooth will be built up using dental cement for final crown placement. 

Summary 

Tooth pain can be debilitating, affecting your routine life. Thankfully, root canal therapy is an effective way to get rid of all the painful symptoms, in addition to restoring the function of your decayed tooth.