Root Canal Infections & Treatment
All about root canal therapy and its use to save pulp-infected teeth.
If you’ve ever suffered from a root canal infection, you’ll know just how painful it can be. Root canal treatment is a common dental procedure which is performed to treat the infection occurring in the root canal system.
Root canal infections occur when naturally occurring oral bacteria get into the tooth itself and this may happen if fillings have gaps in them, because of tooth decay or as a result of trauma to the tooth itself.
Teeth
In your mouth as an adult you will have 32 teeth and each tooth has two main parts, the part you can see and the part underneath. The part underneath is called the root and it goes all the way down to your jawbone.
The root of your teeth, or the root canal, contains dental pulp and goes from the crown of your tooth to the very bottom of your root. It is also possible for a single tooth to have several root canals.
Root Canal Infections
Your tooth pulp is made of nerves and blood vessels and when bacteria gets into it, it kills it. This nasty bacteria can then spread and continue to cause damage. At the end of the root canal there is a tiny opening where the bacteria, if left to spread, will pass through. The infection spreads because there are no barriers to stop the bacteria finding its way down your root canal, and you’re likely to find you get swelling around the tooth and in your mouth.
Here at NW8 Abbey Road Dental, we’ve had plenty of patients come to us on an emergency basis with extreme toothache and oral pain from root canal issues, with some poor patients even suffering from a swollen face all because of this nasty infection. We understand how painful this infection can be, which is why we always do our best to help patients avoid getting one in the first place, and act fast if they do end up the victim of a root canal bacterial attack.
Root Canal Treatment
At Abbey Road Dental, we will look to treat the root canal infection in order to get rid of the offending bacteria completely. We will give you a full assessment and it may be the case you need the tooth removing completely; however, where possible we will use root canal treatment to remove the bacteria from the root canal and save the tooth.
When we have removed the bacteria we fill the root canal and seal the tooth. The tooth may need a crown or a filling to seal it properly and to provide additional strength. When the bacteria has been completely removed, any swelling or pain should stop after a few days.
Will It Hurt?
The root canal infection will hurt, but the procedure to treat it should not painful as we use a local anaesthetic to completely numb the area.
After Your Treatment
After your treatment your friendly NW8 dentist in St John’s Wood will provide you with all the information you need about caring for your teeth during your root canal treatment recovery. This will include information on preventing the need for root canal treatment again which generally includes good oral hygiene, watching how much you consume sugary drinks and food and avoiding smoking.