If you are experiencing severe pain in your teeth while chewing or extreme sensitivity to hot and cold foods, it is a sign that your teeth are infected and need a root canal treatment. Under root canal treatment, we restore your infected or damaged teeth instead of removing them. The treatment involves cleaning the canals located inside the root of your teeth. Hence, the name of the treatment.
We perform root canal therapy on you if your pulp, composed of blood vessels and nerves, becomes infected or damaged. We remove the pulp, clean your tooth, and seal it with a suitable material.
It would be best if you had root canal therapy when the pulp of your tooth, i.e., the soft central part, is inflamed, infected, or injured. It could be due to causes such as:
Taking X-ray
Before starting the treatment, we take an x-ray of the infected tooth to determine the shape of the root canals and see whether or not the surrounding bone is infected.
Administering local anesthesia
We start the treatment by giving you a numbing medication. We inject the local anesthesia to your gums near the infected tooth and wait till it starts taking effect.
Removing the pulp
Once the tooth is numb, we make an opening on top of your tooth and expose the pulp. After that, we begin cleaning your root canals with files.
Applying antibiotics
After thoroughly cleaning the root canals, we apply a topical antibiotic to treat the infection. After disinfecting the canal, we seal it with gutta-percha and a sealer paste. We also prescribe oral antibiotics.
Placing a temporary filling
We fill the cavity (the opening on top of your tooth) with a temporary restorative material.
Follow-up
We will schedule a follow-up within a few days and take an x-ray. If the infection is gone, we replace the temporary filling with a permanent restoration, such as a crown.
Please reach out to our Premier Arts Dental in Freehold, NJ, to have a consultation with our dentist, Dr. Shah. Please call us at (732) 702-2787 or schedule an online consultation, and we'll guide you further.