Root Canal Treatment

A throbbing pain? Excruciating toothache that radiates through your entire head?pulling pain? A bump from which pus is coming out on your gums? These could all be signs of an inflamed or dying nerve.

A root canal treatment is needed to remove an inflamed and/or dead nerve from a tooth or molar. Sometimes this causes acute pain or swelling, but this is not always the case.

1. The treatment is performed under local anesthesia. Once the anesthesia has fully taken effect, the dentist drills an opening to reach the (inflamed/dead) nerve. The nerve is then removed.
2. In the next step, the dentist disinfects the canals and prepares and shapes them using small files. This is done in order to eventually seal the canals permanently with rubber points.
3. Once the root canals are filled, the tooth can be sealed with a white filling.

Once the tooth is permanently sealed and the cause of the pain is gone, the tooth can gradually begin to heal. The first few days after the treatment may still be a bit sensitive.

A tooth or molar that has undergone a root canal treatment will become somewhat weaker or more brittle over the years. Often, the first year is used to monitor whether the treatment has had the desired effect. After one year, it will be decided whether it is advisable to proceed with placing a crown in order to minimize the risk of fracture.

Root canal treatments are time-consuming and costly procedures. Together with you, we will discuss whether the dentist will perform the treatment or whether it would be better to refer you to a specialist who will carry out the procedure using a microscope.