Premier Dental Care
Root Canal Treatment
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What is a
Root Canal Treatment?
Tooth decay, trauma or cracks can cause the nerves of teeth to die which can cause tooth canal problems. The good news is that we often can preserve your natural tooth by removing the infected dental pulp.
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What can I expect?
Root canals can be real “tooth-savers.” If you’re at risk of losing a tooth, a successful root canal can prevent an extraction.
Typically, we’ll need to perform a root canal if the pulp of your tooth has become infected. Most human teeth have one to four root canals inside the tooth, depending on the tooth.
Premier Dental Care offers root canal therapy in Colorado Springs, CO. Root canals, also referred to as Endodontic Therapy, are performed when there is damage, injury or infection within the root of a tooth, typically to the nerves. The root of the tooth also contains blood vessels and connective tissue, in addition to nerves. When damage to this area or infection occurs, the canals in the root of the tooth must be cleaned out, filed, shaped and filled. This process occurs during a root canal procedure.
Generally caused by tooth decay or shock, pulp or nerve tissue damage can be an excruciating experience, with symptoms including pain while chewing, sensitivity and swelling. If left untreated, pulp damage can lead to abscesses, or pus-filled infections, and eventually to tooth loss
Common causes of root damage include:
- trauma to the tooth (such as a chipped or broken tooth)
- decay that penetrated the enamel and dentin of the tooth
- abscessed tooth
- a tooth that is dying
- exposed roots / nerves
Your tooth might need a root canal if:
- It hurts when you bite down on it, touch it or push on it
- It is sensitive to heat
- It is sensitive to cold for more than a couple of seconds
- There is swelling near the tooth
- It is discolored (whether it hurts or not)
- It is broken
Root Canal Therapy
The center of every tooth has a non-solid area that houses soft tissue, such as the nerve, blood vessels and connective tissue. This area contains a relatively wide space in the top portion of the tooth called the pulp chamber that that then narrows. These canals run through roots of teeth similar to the way pencil lead runs through a pencil.
This tissue nourishes and hydrates the tooth structure, making the tooth more resistant, less brittle, and less prone to fracture from normal chewing. It also provides the tooth with hot and cold sensory function.
When a tooth is damaged from trauma like tooth decay, this soft tissue can become injured and irreversibly damaged. At that time a procedure called root canal therapy is performed to remove and clean the inside of the tooth where it is disinfected and filled
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For more information on root canals, or to schedule a visit with one of our dentists, please us.
