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All You Need To Know About Root Canal Therapy

BLOG - Plantation, FL
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By My Dentist For Life Of Plantation

What is a root canal therapy?

A root canal therapy is a curative dental procedure, in which, a tooth that has been infected with bacteria from within is treated. Root canal therapy can take up to 2 appointments or more, depending upon the complexity of the condition.

When would you need root canal therapy?

You’d need root canal therapy when you have been suffering from a condition called ‘pulpitis’. Pulpitis is a condition, in which, a tooth pulp (the innermost part of a tooth) has been infected with bacteria. The pulp harbors nerve tissues and blood vessels around it, which is why even these tissues get infected.

The primary cause of pulpitis is poor oral hygiene. When bacteria have been left in the mouth for too long, they eventually penetrate the tooth to reach its pulp of it.

Symptoms that you need root canal therapy

One of the major issues with pulpitis is the fact that victims often don’t get to realize that they need root canal therapy until the signs become too severe. This is because some of the signs of pulpitis could be deceivingly subtle. However, the following are some common signs that you can look for to know if you need root canal therapy:

  • Heightened sensitivity
  • Newly acquired tooth sensitivity to sweet food.
  • Mild to severe toothache
  • Swollen gums
  • Bad breath
  • Slightly discolored tooth
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Loose tooth
  • Fever

What to expect during root canal treatment

At first, you can expect your dentist to offer you sedation to make the treatment painless for you. An access hole will be created in the tooth to gain access to the pulp of the tooth. Using dental files, the infected pulp and surrounding tissues will be removed. Following this, the hollow tooth will be filled with a dental filling.

In some cases, this filling may be temporary and you may need to pay another visit for a proper dental filling. You may even want to protect your now fragile tooth with a dental crown.

In some instances, a root canal therapy can hurt really bad if the nerve tissues around the tooth pulp are not totally dead. However, not every dentist provides sedation and to ensure that you get an absolutely painless root canal treatment, you need to choose wisely. For that reason, you can get painless root canal therapy near you in Plantation FL!