How a Root Canal Can Help Relieve Pain

A failing tooth really impacts how you function. A throbbing ache, biting pain, and intense sensitivity to hot and cold foods and drinks all signal that something is amiss inside your tooth. At Sebastian River Dentistry in Sebastian, FL, your dentist, Dr. Mark Peterson, performs root canal therapy to relieve these symptoms and to preserve the function and integrity of your tooth. Read on to learn how a root canal can help you!

 

What is a root canal?

Also called endodontic therapy, a root canal procedure removes the soft tissues inside the slender interior chambers that run down tooth roots. Often subject to damage from decay, gum disease, or traumatic injury, the interior pulp is not essential to the function or strength of the adult tooth. In other words, your tooth can survive—and thrive—without the connective tissues, nerves, and blood vessels inside your tooth.

Your Sebastian, FL, dentist uses root canal therapy for teeth which otherwise would require extraction. Dr. Peterson assesses the health of a problem tooth by:

  • Examining the tooth and its surrounding gum tissue
  • Reviewing patient symptoms
  • Taking digital X-rays

 

The steps involved in root canal treatment
If root canal therapy is the best option for your individual case, your dentist will perform it entirely in-office, where you'll receive local anesthetic to numb the tooth so that Dr. Peterson can remove the diseased pulp from each canal.
Pulp removal involves creating a small access hole into each canal and using small files or a fine rotary tool to debride the canal walls and extract the pulp. Next, the dentist instills antibiotic medication into each canal and seals them with a biocompatible putty called gutta-percha. Finally, a temporary restoration will be placed over the tooth to protect it as it heals over the subsequent week to 10 days.
Because diseased pulp and associated damage to the canal walls often cause painful inflammation, removal of this material relieves toothache pain and sensitivity almost right away. As your tooth recovers, it may remain somewhat sore, but this gradually subsides as you eat a soft diet and take over-the-counter analgesics as directed by Dr. Peterson.
When you come back to Sebastian River Dentistry, your dentist will remove the temporary restoration and bond a customized porcelain crown over your tooth to protect, support and beautify it for many years to come.

Need a root canal? Give us a call!
If you have dental pain, tender gums, a sore jaw, or any other symptoms which that you, please contact Dr. Mark Peterson at Sebastian River Dentistry—he'll do everything he can to help you have the best oral health possible. Phone our Sebastian, FL, office today at (772) 388-3119.

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Fellowship Member of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.