Root Canal Treatment
With modern techniques, root canal treatment is not typically a stressful or painful procedure. When indicated, it is a vitally important treatment for protecting your oral and overall health. At Park Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, we are committed to helping you feel comfortable during treatment so that you can get the dental care that you need.
When is Root Canal Treatment Needed?
If you have an infection in your tooth, you need root canal treatment. A tooth infection is different from an infection elsewhere in the body. The body normally responds to infections by swelling and sending extra antibodies and white blood cells to kill bacteria. But due to the limited space inside a tooth, the tissue cannot swell. Instead, it succumbs to the infection and dies. This dead tissue is then trapped inside the tooth, unable to be removed by the body. Bacteria then spill out into the bone, eventually forming an abscess.
What is Root Canal Treatment?
When you have a tooth infection or abscess, we first get rid of all of the dead or dying tissue. Then, we completely clean out the inside of your tooth. Finally, we fill your entire tooth with a material that seals it from the inside out so that no bacteria can ever get inside of it again. Many people fear root canal treatment when in reality, this procedure is not difficult from a patient’s perspective, and it need not be painful. In fact, in some cases novocain isn’t even needed because the tooth is already dead.
For Your Comfort
We know that people deal with differing levels of dental anxiety, and we have the tools to help even the most anxious patient. To promote your highest comfort, we have dental chairs equipped with heating and massage functions. When more assistance is needed for you to enter into a state of relaxation, we offer nitrous oxide as well as conscious sedation, which is available orally and via IV. For more information about our sedation options and our commitment to easing the dental fear of our patients, please visit our sedation page.
