Tooth infections are almost entirely preventable by a commitment to good daily dental hygiene habits. You know, the boring basics of brushing, flossing, going to the dentist, and having your teeth cleaned. If you don’t take good care of your teeth, though, tooth decay, cavities, and infections can develop. Even tooth decay, cavities, and infections can be dealt with effectively if treated early, but too many people wait too long to get the dental care they need. As a result, those infections become so severe that having teeth pulled seems like the only solution.
Enter root canal therapy in West Edmonton Root canals are a painless procedure — yes, you read that correctly — that eliminates serious tooth infections before they threaten your general health while eliminating the need to have teeth pulled. How do you know you may need a root canal, and what should you expect?
- If you experience any of the following symptoms, make an appointment with a dentist in West Edmonton to have a professional take a look at what’s going on:
- If you experience tooth pain, whether it’s sharp and intense, dull and constant, or constantly throbbing
- If your teeth are extremely sensitive to hot or cold temperatures
- If you experience severe pain when you bite down on the tooth
- If your tooth pain seems to get worse when you lay down
- If you experience sudden spikes in tooth pain spontaneously
- If the pain is so serious that pain medication doesn’t seem to help
- If you notice any swelling on your gums, inside your mouth, or on the side of your face or neck
If you notice a pimple-like abscess on your gums around your sore tooth. You may notice that the pimple seems to ooze foul-tasting pus before refilling later.
What happens during a root canal?
Root canal treatment in West Edmonton is usually a two-appointment process after your dentist confirms through an examination, tests, and x-rays that you have a serious tooth infection requiring root canal treatment near you.
First, your dentist will freeze the area to be treated with a local anesthetic to ensure you experience no pain. Local anesthetic is usually applied in two steps: a numbing cream applied to the surface of your gums; and then an injection. If you’re concerned about remaining calm or still during the procedure, ask your dentist about sedation dentistry options.
Second, your dentist will place a rubber dam that acts as a barrier around the tooth to be treated. That barrier will keep the operating area clean and dry and prevent material released from the tooth during treatment from spreading elsewhere in your mouth.
Third, your dentist will make a small opening into the top of your tooth. Your dentist will use that opening to access the interior of your tooth to remove all extracted material and to clean the interior of the emptied tooth with a bleach solution to disinfect the root canals. Once the material has been removed, and the interior of the tooth is cleaned, your dentist will seal the tooth using a substance called gutta-percha.
Fourth, your dentist will place a temporary filling over the tooth. Once you’ve healed from the procedure, your dentist will fit you with a permanent dental crown to completely cover and protect your tooth from re-infection.
If you’ve been experiencing any symptoms of a serious tooth infection, make an appointment with a dentist in West Edmonton as soon as possible to treat that infection before it spreads beyond your mouth and requires extraction. Root canal therapy near you has a bad reputation, but their highly successful and painless procedures that eliminate serious infections and eliminate the need to have teeth pulled.